Staff Reports
The Biden Administration is stepping on the gas pedal once again, this time extending an “Emergency Declaration” that protects Big Pharma and its mRNA vaccine creators from the legal consequences of their COVID-19 products. Signed off by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, this 12th amendment to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act will keep liability shields firmly in place until December 31, 2029. This means the pharmaceutical giants can continue rolling out their wares without looking over their shoulders for lawsuits related to injuries and deaths from the vaccines—even as healthcare workers who administered them also skate free from blame.
Becerra, in true bureaucratic fashion, argued that the world still faces a looming “credible risk” of the pandemic — which, according to this administration, may come spiraling out of control any minute now, especially if President-elect Donald Trump somehow finds himself back in office. Apparently, desperate times call for desperate measures, and in this case, that means extending the vacation from accountability for those in the vaccine business.
Joe Biden extended the “emergency declaration for Covid19 to protect Big Pharma from liability. Trump just said in an interview that RFK Jr. would be investigating the vaccines.
This PREP ACT extends liability protections for the deadly mRNA COVID vaccines until 2029. pic.twitter.com/FqJNm0SSVl— Tessa (@WorldEmbassador) December 12, 2024
The imaginative reasoning behind this extension includes a nod to the continued “credible threat” of COVID-19 outbreaks, which are said to persist both in the U.S. and around the globe. With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dirt on how one in every 200,000 vaccine recipients might face allergic reactions or heart woes, it’s hard to see what “credible risks” the government is referencing without a touch of sarcasm. After all, one can only hope that vaccine-related injuries don’t tickle their way into the spotlight while the administration maintains its blanket immunity for Big Pharma.
Originally conceived in 2020 to encourage speedy vaccine development, the PREP Act has seen a radical accentuation under Biden’s watch. The extension is dressed up as a protective measure for “future public health emergencies,” a phrase that’s starting to sound less like foresight and more like a loophole marathon run by the Democrats. Critics are dumbfounded, asking if extending immunity for one of the largest industries in America is really the way to safeguard public health.
Meanwhile, high-ranking officials in the pharmacy world, like Michael Hogue, CEO of the American Pharmacists Association, are all in favor of prolonging the charmed life of the pharmaceutical sector. According to him, this extension can “continue saving lives and lower healthcare costs.” However, whether this translates to fewer vaccine injuries remains to be seen. With around 13,000 claims filed against the COVID vaccine—ten thousand still waiting for reviews—it seems the administration might be more concerned with saving Big Pharma’s skin than the average American’s.
The saga continues to unravel into a comedy of errors, as the administration champions the public health measures all while covering the tracks for those cashing in on vaccines. The real question lingers: how long can the government keep dancing around accountability before citizens start asking for some solid answers? When it comes to the politics of public health, one thing’s crystal clear: it’s better to have a thriving pharmaceutical industry than a transparent one.
