Kansas sues Pfizer over misleading Covid-19 vaccine claims

The American state of Kansas has sued Pfizer, accusing the company of misleading the public about the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine. The lawsuit alleges that Pfizer hid the risks associated with taking the dose and falsely claimed the vaccine's efficacy in combating the coronavirus. Four years after the pandemic began, the company faces serious legal challenges.

According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed in the Thomas County District Court. Kansas is seeking unspecified damages from the New York-based drug manufacturer.

"Pfizer made many misleading statements to deceive the public about its vaccine at a time when Americans needed the truth," said Kris Kobach, the Republican Attorney General of Kansas, as quoted by the agency.

What exactly is the issue? "The lawsuit alleges that shortly after the vaccine was introduced to the market in early 2021, Pfizer concealed evidence that taking the vaccine dose was associated with pregnancy complications, including miscarriage, as well as inflammatory conditions in and around the heart, known as myocarditis and pericarditis," reports the press agency.

Furthermore, the state of Kansas claims that Pfizer, which developed the vaccine jointly with its German partner BioNTech, falsely stated that it is equally effective against mutated variants of COVID-19.

"Pfizer's statements about the COVID-19 vaccine were accurate and scientifically grounded," Pfizer responds, arguing that the Kansas lawsuit is baseless.

In June 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added a warning about myocarditis and pericarditis to the vaccine's label. "Adverse effects are rare and most commonly occur in adolescent boys and young men," Reuters reports.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health stated in 2023 that there is no evidence linking COVID-19 vaccines to miscarriages.

On Monday, Kris Kobach noted that other U.S. states collaborated with Kansas to gather materials for the lawsuit, so he expects this will not be the last action against Pfizer.

Reuters adds that the Attorney General of Texas filed a similar lawsuit against Pfizer last year. The case, which the manufacturer also calls baseless, is ongoing.

"Pfizer deliberately misrepresented the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine and censored those who threatened to spread the truth to facilitate the rapid adoption of the product and enhance its commercial potential," the lawsuit states.

Pfizer reported that over 1.5 billion people had received its coronavirus vaccine. The manufacturer achieved over 74 billion dollars in revenue in 2021 and 2022 related to COVID-19 vaccinations.