Feds Probe Disputed Tip Pfizer Held Covid Vaccine Results Until After 2020 Vote

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are probing a claim by British drugmaker GSK that Pfizer delayed announcing its COVID shot's success in 2020 until after that year's election, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

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The report said on Wednesday that GSK's former head of vaccine development, Philip Dormitzer, who joined the company after working at rival Pfizer, had told his GSK colleagues about the delay.

However, Dormitzer has disputed that account.

"My Pfizer colleagues and I did everything we could to get the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization at the very first possible moment. Any other interpretation of my comments about the pace of the vaccine's development would be incorrect," he told Reuters in a statement.

Beege Welborn

As my friend, a retired federal prosecutor, explains, this could be a very big deal if it turned out to be true.

...Such actions could be classified as corporate fraud—intentionally withholding what they claimed was life-saving medication for political gain. If shown to have any merit whatsoever, expect investigations into securities violations, shareholder lawsuits for harm caused, and potential federal election law violations. Executives could even face criminal charges, including conspiracy to defraud the US, obstruction and other possible offenses. This could constitute a serious betrayal of public trust with potentially significant legal consequences for Pfizer and its executives.

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