Pfizer Exec: COVID Vaccines Not Tested on Transmission Before Rollout

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Facts

  • A senior Pfizer executive told a committee of the European Parliament on Monday that its COVID vaccine wasn't tested for preventing transmission of the virus before the company began its global rollout of the vaccine.
  • Janine Small, Pfizer's president of international developed markets, made the admission in response to a question from conservative Dutch MEP Rob Roos.
  • "Was the Pfizer Covid vaccine tested on stopping the transmission of the virus before it entered the market?" Roos said. "If not, please say it clearly. If yes, are you willing to share the data with this committee? And I really want a straight answer, yes or no, and I’m looking forward to it."
  • In response, Small said: "Regarding the question...did we know about stopping immunization before it entered the market, no." She added: "We had to really move at the speed of science to really understand what is taking place in the market."
  • Small had appeared in the place of Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla, who was expected to face scrutiny after a report from the European Court of Auditors found that he personally negotiated vaccine contracts with European Commission Pres. Ursula von der Leyen via text message.
  • Following the hearing, Roos released a video in which he called the actions of Pfizer "shocking, even criminal." Pfizer hasn't issued a response.
  • Transmission studies are among the hardest to do, according to experts, and require the study of both individuals and larger populations. The efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine in preventing transmission was investigated after the vaccine rollout.

Sources: Daily Caller, multimedia, politico, Daily Wire, and Nature.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RedState. This admission from Pfizer is scandalous. The company, and countless other officials - including from the Biden administration - claimed vaccines prevented transmission. Biden and others went further by shaming those who didn't get vaccinated, stating they put the wider community at risk. This assertion was not correct and undermined public confidence.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Gulf Insider. Roos's accusations heavily distort the facts. During the very early stages of the pandemic, trials had a primary outcome of reducing the risk of severe disease, not transmission. However, virus transmission was researched later and, as expected, vaccines helped with this too – though it was never promised they would stop it completely. Context is vital here - mRNA vaccines protect people from COVID.