By Jefferey Jaxen

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently held an ‘Accountability Roundtable for mRNA Shots’ bringing together both experts and the public for a live-streamed discussion. Having been the most outspoken governor during America’s COVID response on issues like masking, lockdowns, and vaccine mandates, DeSantis appears to be carrying that momentum through to larger measures with three new announcements.  

We know there’s been a lot of faith destroyed in public health” stated DeSantis during the livestream leading into his announcement of a new public health committee for the State of Florida. 

To answer this need to renew trust in public health, DeSantis stated the following:

“…Other governors and I have talked about the need to have a panel of experts who can counteract nonsense when it’s coming out of these institutions. That are not just going to go along with the flow and follow pre-cooked narratives. But will actually do evidence-based analysis.

“In Florida, we’re creating what we’re calling the Public Health Integrity Committee. It’s a committee of expert researchers that will be able to assess recommendations and guidance related to public health and healthcare. But particularly being able to offer critical assessments of things that bureaucracies like the FDA, CDC and NIH are doing.”

Will this new committee prompt other state governors to enact similar panels in an effort to filter out bad policy and science coming from the federal government in relation to public health? 

In addition to this new committee, DeSantis also announced 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.”

DeSantis added that the potential Grand Jury will come with ‘legal processes’ to bring accountability to those who created misconduct. 

In October 2022, The Florida Department of Health conducted an analysis through a self-controlled case series, which is a technique originally developed to evaluate vaccine safety.

This analysis found that there is an 84% increase in the relative incidence of cardiac-related death among males 18-39 years old within 28 days following mRNA vaccination. 

These findings, against the global backdrop of mounting global scientific evidence of myocarditis in young males stemming from the mRNA COVID shots, prompted the State Surgeon General at the time to recommends against males aged 18 to 39 from receiving mRNA COVID-19 vaccines stating in a press release that “…the benefit of vaccination is likely outweighed by this abnormally high risk of cardiac-related death.”  

Carrying thought the initial scientific investigation into myocarditis by the State of Florida, Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo added a third announcement during the recent roundtable. 

We are initiating a program here in Florida where we will be studying the incidence, in surveillance, of myocarditis within a few weeks of COVID-19 vaccination for people who died. This is going to be a surveillance study working with some of our medical examiners in Florida.”

Ladapo added, “We’re also going to be working with the University of Florida so there will be a component that will have more of a research arm to it.

Over the last few years, states have begun to take bolder action in the public health space using the powers granted to them. In February, state attorneys general reached a $26 billion settlement to resolve an avalanche of civil lawsuits against four major U.S. corporations for their role in helping to fuel the deadly opioid crisis in America.

During the COVID response, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry brought a lawsuit against the federal government for allegedly colluding with social media companies to censor speech. 

Their actions allowed damning internal emails and discovery documents to be entered into the public conversation showing several government agencies regularly engaging Big Tech platforms to curtail speech.  Many federal officials, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have been or will be required to sit for depositions in the case as well. 

Yet few, if any, states have taken their powers to the extent that Florida is currently proposing. The state’s three-pronged approach of potential legal action against vaccine-makers mixed with their own in-house scientific committee and research initiative is their effort at bringing transparency and trust back to a science and public health community badly damaged by myopic federal policies and edicts over the last few years. 

Will other states see value in Florida’s approach and attempt to repeat the formula for their citizens? 

Jefferey Jaxen

Jefferey Jaxen is an investigative journalist and researcher, best known for his weekly segment The Jaxen Report on The HighWire. With a sharp eye for detail and a talent for clear, compelling storytelling, he has exposed major issues in medicine, science, and public health policy, earning recognition as a trusted voice in independent journalism.

Other Headlines

Coronavirus

Senator Ron Johnson Says Biden Administration Failed To Immediately Warn About Stroke Risk From Pfizer Vaccine

Senator Ron Johnson received nearly 2,000 pages of records showing that there was a known safety concern associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent COVID-19 vaccine that was not disclosed to the public. Senator Johnson alleges that the Biden administration downplayed the statistically significant risk of ischemic stroke while simultaneously reviewing the potential harms without notifying theContinue reading Senator Ron Johnson Says Biden Administration Failed To Immediately Warn About Stroke Risk From Pfizer Vaccine

More news about Coronavirus

Health & Nutrition

AG Ken Paxton Investigates Lululemon For Potentially Misleading Consumers About PFAS In Its Products

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into Lululemon, the popular sportswear company, to determine whether it has misled consumers about the safety, quality, and health impacts of its products. Specifically, Paxton said there is increased research and consumer concerns about the potential presence of PFAS, or forever chemicals that are associated withContinue reading AG Ken Paxton Investigates Lululemon For Potentially Misleading Consumers About PFAS In Its Products

More news about Health & Nutrition

Vaccines

Exclusive: FOIA Data Reveal Adverse Event Patterns in New RNA Dog Vaccine

Details from a FOIA request to the USDA have revealed severe adverse events following injection of the Nobivac NXT canine flu H3N2 vaccine, the first self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccine widely used in the US for pets. The aftermarket reports received by The HighWire show the first 1,012 pages of 1,888 total pages of adverse eventsContinue reading Exclusive: FOIA Data Reveal Adverse Event Patterns in New RNA Dog Vaccine

More news about Vaccines

Science & Tech

Meta Found Liable For Design Flaws In California Case; Concealing Child Safety Concerns In NM

Meta and Google were found liable in a landmark California lawsuit alleging that the social media application design is defective in that it harms the developing brains of children and teenagers. Meta and Google are required to pay $3 million each as a result of the verdict. This is the first time a jury hasContinue reading Meta Found Liable For Design Flaws In California Case; Concealing Child Safety Concerns In NM

More news about Science & Tech

Environment

EPA Privately Warned About “Grave Threat” In Roseland, LA Chemical Fire, Contradicting Public Statement

New FOIA documents show that the EPA was concerned about a “grave threat to human health” in the aftermath of the Smitty’s Supply fire in Roseland, LA, despite public press releases stating there was “no immediate threat.” Bray Fisher, the On-Scene Coordinator for the EPA, submitted an August 27 request to increase the emergency fundingContinue reading EPA Privately Warned About “Grave Threat” In Roseland, LA Chemical Fire, Contradicting Public Statement

More news about Environment

Policy

Assisted Suicide Legal in 13 States as Some Patients Cite Financial Pressure and Burden on Family

Programs like Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) or Death With Dignity (DWD) are being approved across the country now, with New York becoming the 13th state to legalize medically assisted suicide. Oregon was the first state to implement a program nearly three decades ago, in 1997. The law is controversial as people are concerned thatContinue reading Assisted Suicide Legal in 13 States as Some Patients Cite Financial Pressure and Burden on Family

More news about Policy