Pfizer CEO Made ‘Misleading’ Comments About COVID Shots for Kids, UK Regulator Finds
February 4th, 2023Via: The Defender:
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Ph.D., made “misleading” and “unqualified” comments promoting the use of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for young children during an interview on the BBC, a U.K. regulatory agency found.
The Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA), an independent, self-regulatory body established by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), found Bourla breached several rules in its Code of Practice for advertising.
U.K. pharmaceutical industry watchdog UsForThem filed the complaint with the PMCPA. In a Substack post after the ruling, UsForThem accused the BBC’s medical editor, Fergus Walsh, of conducting the interview “as a friendly fireside chat,” giving Bourla “a free pass promotional opportunity that money cannot buy” by allowing him to promote vaccine uptake, particularly among young children for whom the vaccine had not even been authorized.
As the U.K.’s national public service broadcaster, the BBC is meant to follow strict guidelines regarding commercial advertising or product placement, which UsForThem said the Bourla interview failed to follow.
The BBC published the interview with Bourla in December 2021 on its website, its news app and in the “BBC News at One” program, as a video interview and an accompanying article, “Pfizer boss: Annual Covid jabs for years to come.”
The interview aired two days after the U.K. government announced it had agreed to purchase 54 million more doses of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and 60 million more from Moderna.
The PMCPA can fine Bourla only for administrative costs. It does not have the authority to impose other penalties.
The BBC is the founding member of the Trusted News Initiative (TNI). Children’s Health Defense last month sued the BBC and three other TNI members, alleging they partnered with several Big Tech firms to “collectively censor online news,” including stories about COVID-19 that were not aligned with official narratives regarding those issues.
