Moderna Facing Discipline Over Actions Around COVID Vaccine
Pharmaceutical giant Moderna is facing serious consequences in the United Kingdom for several violations of regulatory code around its COVID-19 vaccine.
Moderna, along with Pfizer, became the media's most beloved company in 2020 and into 2021, as both companies, their "expert" partners, and media allies overhyped what COVID vaccines could actually accomplish.
Within a matter of weeks, COVID vaccines went from a useful tool for the elderly, immunocompromised or those at higher risk of serious complications, to becoming a universal demand. Politicians, media outlets and the public health bureaucracy class advocated and imposed vaccine mandates and passport systems.
Politicians like California Gov. Gavin Newsom immediately announced plans to force children to get COVID vaccines.
READ: Follow The (Money) Science: Moderna CEO Made $400 Million Last Year
And now Moderna is set to be disciplined by Britain's pharmaceutical trade body over a "string of breaches of the regulatory code," per a new report.
(Photo Illustration by Nikos Pekiaridis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Moderna Facing Discipline Over Mishandling Of COVID Vaccine
Per The Telegraph, Moderna will be audited by the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) due to "unacceptable" practices and procedures that have harmed the vaccine manufacturing industry.
One of the potential consequences of the investigation could be suspension or expulsion from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (APBI).
Some of the most damning allegations include Moderna employees offering children £1,500 and gifts, including teddy bears, to participate in their COVID vaccine trials. A ruling, per The Telegraph, is expected to be released in just a few days.
Perhaps even worse, Moderna then misrepresented when it found out about the cash offer and other incentives directed towards children.
The pharmaceutical company said it immediately acted once it found out about the cash offers in early 2024, but the outside UsForThem group told Moderna about the inappropriate behavior in summer 2023. Moderna did nothing.
Regulations in Britain do not allow for incentives or monetary compensation offers to children or their parents. PMCPA then ruled that Moderna had demonstrated a "completely unacceptable" lack of transparency, which damaged the reputation of the industry.
That's all bad enough. But Moderna wasn't done there.
An unnamed senior executive at the company then co-authored three articles promoting its COVID vaccine without disclosing the conflict of interest. One of the articles was written in collaboration with Nadhim Zahawi, the former vaccine minister in Britain. Twitter posts also promoted its COVID shot without acknowledging employment at Moderna.
Per the PMCPA investigation, that is akin to advertising the vaccine, and the lack of disclosure was yet another unacceptable breach.
The founder of UsForThem, Molly Kingsley, told The Telegraph, "Many of the previous judgments against Moderna have revealed how readily it put profit ahead of the health and safety of children.
"Now it has also laid bare just how little regard it has had for the regulatory system that was supposed to keep it honest.
"Never before has a company so new to the pharmaceutical industry been rebuked in this way."
All told, there are ten breaches of code by Moderna, done by several senior employees. There could be further punishment once the auditors are finishing examining their "culture, governance and framework" after the systemic failures.
An MP in England also told The Telegraph that while the investigation and audit are welcome, there should be severe punishment to discourage these manufacturers from making these kinds of "mistakes" moving forward.
Esther McVey MP, a former member of the all-party parliamentary group on Covid vaccine damage, said: "There have now been six cases over the last few months where the UK Prescription Medicines Code of Practice Authority (PMCPA) have ruled against Moderna regarding multiple breaches of the industry’s Code of Practice.
"The news that the PMCPA is taking the highly unusual step of ordering an audit of Moderna’s culture, governance and compliance framework is reputationally damaging, but it is incredible that the regulator has no real power to impose appropriate fines or other meaningful penalties which might make pharmaceutical companies think twice before breaking the rules.
"They know they can get away with it, and so they do; time and time again. It’s hardly surprising that public trust in the pharmaceutical industry and its regulators is through the floor."
Moderna could face suspension or expulsion from this organization, a good first step after a pattern of misbehavior.
This whole investigation shows how pharmaceutical companies were and are desperate to sell product. Far from being the angelic, altruistic, dispassionate parties that the media portrayed them as, they put profits and sales figures first.
It's not unreasonable for companies to want to make sales and increase revenues. That's how corporations work. But what is unreasonable is the lengths they went to in order to sell their products, experts downplaying concerns and side effects, and politicians and other companies mandating that millions of people get those vaccines. Based on misinformation over what they could accomplish. Misinformation that often came from those pharmaceutical companies in the first place.
Incentivizing children to take part in COVID vaccine trials is simply inexcusable, especially considering the lack of risk COVID poses to children. Welcome to the modern pharmaceutical industry.