Vax statewide grand jury report: ‘Investigation is nowhere near complete’

Ron DeSantis in Naples. Screenshot from WKMG via The Florida Channel.

A statewide grand jury set up at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis to investigate the companies that manufacture COVID-19 vaccines said in its first-ever report that its “investigation is nowhere near complete” and that it had not gotten cooperation from federal healthcare agencies in its probe.

In its 33-page interim report, the grand jury said that while the members have heard from doctors, professors and scientists, “there are still many months and much more testimony and evidence to come before our work will be finished.”

DeSantis called the grand jury in December 2022 after he went from someone who promoted the COVID-19 vaccine when it was first being distributed to someone who repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of the “jab” as he called it. He pushed for laws that banned vaccine mandates.

When he campaigned for President, DeSantis criticized former President Donald Trump for keeping chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci on board during the pandemic and routinely called for “accountability” against the federal agencies involved in the response to COVID-19.

Interestingly, the grand jury notes that so far it has not gotten “fulsome cooperation” from all potential witnesses and that some have questioned the “fairness” of the panel since it was set up at the insistence of DeSantis. The report also stated that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Army — agencies with a hand in the approval and distribution of vaccines — have declined to participate in the proceedings.

“These agencies have elected not to provide representatives to testify before this body, and federal law prohibits us from compelling their cooperation,” the report states.

The grand jury consists of voters drawn from mostly Republican-dominated counties in central and southwest Florida. The grand jury’s Legal Adviser works for Attorney General Ashley Moody. At the top of the report, the grand jury asserted that it is “apolitical” and is “insulated from the influence of the political actors that caused us to be impaneled.”

“Our main uniting feature is that each of us believes the citizens of the State of Florida deserve unbiased answers to the important questions raised by the Petition and the Impanelment Order. Moreover, we concur that if violations of Florida criminal law occurred with respect to COVID-19 vaccines, they must be addressed by the appropriate authorities.”

In its report, the grand jury also suggested that lockdowns, masks and social distancing were not effective tools to combat the spread of COVID-19. Nearly 100,000 Floridians have died from the virus since March 2020.

The Governor’s office issued a press release reiterating the grand jury’s conclusions on lockdowns, masks, and social distancing, among other things The release also describes the grand jury as apolitical and highlights the fact that federal agencies refused to participate.