As head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci has long supported using mandates to coerce people into getting vaccinated for COVID-19
However, a recent announcement by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis could spell trouble for Fauci and others like him.
DeSantis said at a Public Health Integrity Committee roundtable discussion earlier this week that he is asking that a grand jury be tasked with investigating the efficacy of COVID vaccines along with their associated risks.
"In Florida, it is against the law to mislead and to misrepresent, particularly when you're talking about the efficacy of a drug," the governor declared.
"Today, I'm announcing a petition with the Supreme Court of Florida to impanel a statewide grand jury to investigate any and all wrongdoing in Florida with respect to COVID-19 vaccines, and we anticipate that we will get the approval for that," he continued.
DeSantis spoke of the move during an interview on Tuesday with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, saying, "The authoritarians were the ones that wanted to mandate the vax on people. I protected people from having that happen and made sure Floridians could make their own choice."
"The authoritarians wanted to institute a vaccine passport system almost like a social credit system, so that people who dissented from this would be marginalized from society entirely," he complained.
"We rejected that and we banned it," the governor boasted, adding, "At the end of the day, what we're looking for is to provide truth, to provide accurate data, and provide accurate analysis."
DeSantis' announcement was met with scorn by members of the mainstream media, including New York Magazine columnist Jonathan Chait.
He alleged in a tweet that the Florida governor's actions were a politically motivated attempt at "courting the anti-vaccine movement."
It's been very, very obvious Ron DeSantis was courting the anti-vaccine movement. The pro-vaccine conservatives chose to deny this fact rather than try to stop it. It's a case study in the conservative movement's intellectual dysfunction. https://t.co/rhsRsh1F1z
— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) December 13, 2022
DeSantis has remained undeterred however, pointing to research by Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who argued in a Wall Street Journal article last year that the risks associated with COVID vaccines have been understated.
"The benefit is minuscule, but as Joe Ladapo and other studies have shown, there is a risk for doing it," he pointed out.
"So why can't our medical establishment acknowledge that? Why the deception? Why have they continued to do this for two years?" the governor demanded.
