Exclusive: Pfizer Denies Unethical Gain-of-Function Research for Coronavirus Vaccines in Letter to Rep. Ronny Jackson
Pfizer denied conducting gain-of-function research for the coronavirus virus in a letter to Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX), Breitbart News has learned exclusively.
Jackson, a physician and a member of the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, sent a letter in January, which was exclusively obtained by Breitbart News’s Hannah Bleau, demanding answers on if Pfizer engaged in gain-of-function research by intentionally mutating the Chinese coronavirus.
Pfizer responded to Jackson on February 23 with a letter signed by their vice president & COO of vaccine research, which was obtained by Breitbart News.
In the letter, Pfizer strongly denied that the company would engage in gain-of-function research.
“To be clear, we do not, and never would, engage in research to create or adapt viruses with the intention of making them more contagious or harmful to people,” Pfizer stated.
“In the ongoing development of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer has not conducted gain-of-function research with SARS-CoV-2 for any potential use in humans, laboratory animals or to use as a vaccine,” the pharmaceutical stated.
Pfizer explained that when a new coronavirus variant emerges, Pfizer studies changes in its spike protein to understand whether the company would need to update its vaccine.
He explained:
We do this by adapting the virus in a highly secure lab so that the spike protein matches the newly identified circulating variants. This is done to mimic viruses that are already circulating in nature. This type of work is scientific best practice and is commonly conducted by other companies, institutions and public health authorities. It is necessary both for assessing the effectiveness of existing vaccines and new vaccine candidates targeted at currently circulating variants.
The representative also said that the pharmaceutical giant also evaluates variants for the effectiveness of its coronavirus oral treatment, or Paxlovid:
As we have previously indicated, we then isolate the new viruses from these studies, or adapt viruses with targeted changes in the main protease, and test to see whether Paxlovid is still effective. All of this work is done in highly secure laboratories, and we have not studied these adapted COVID-19 viruses in animals.
The claim that prompted Jackson’s inquiry came from from a Project Veritas video in which Jordon Trishton Walker, Pfizer Director of Research and Development, Strategic Operations, mRNA Scientific Planner, stated that the company was engaging in what he described as “directed evolution.”
“If true, this is unbelievably unethical and concerning to imagine Pfizer would prioritize its profits over the safety of the American public by conducting such gain-of-function research and endangering the lives of the very people you propose to help,” Jackson wrote in his letter to Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla.
FILE – Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, questions Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Breitbart News has not received a comment from Jackson as of press time.
The Pfizer executive concluded in his letter to Jackson, “Pfizer is dedicated to conducting research in an ethical and responsible manner. We have an unwavering commitment to keeping high standards of safety, quality, and compliance at the forefront of all we do.”
2023.02.23 – Response Letter by Breitbart News on Scribd
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3
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