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— Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he plans to petition the state’s Supreme Court to convene a grand jury to investigate “any and all wrongdoing” related to COVID-19 vaccines.
DeSantis made the announcement following a roundtable with Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo and a panel of scientists and physicians who expressed skepticism about the vaccines, the companies that manufacture them, and CDC recommendations saying everyone who’s eligible should receive the shots.
DeSantis, who is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2024, gave no specifics on what wrongdoing the panel would investigate, but suggested it would search for evidence to bolster claims about harmful side effects.
“We’ll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not,” DeSantis said. “In Florida, it is illegal to mislead and misrepresent, especially when you are talking about the efficacy of a drug.”
Vaccine studies funded by pharmaceutical companies that developed COVID-19 vaccines have been published in peer-reviewed journals like the New England Journal of Medicine, and government panels reviewed data on the safety and effectiveness of the shots before approving them for use.
DeSantis has long opposed COVID-19 vaccine mandates and earlier had questioned the value of the shots for children. This year, Florida became the first state to not recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy young people.
But Tuesday’s panel discussion was the governor’s most aggressive effort yet to raise concerns about vaccines that he initially promoted when they were first released.
