Jamaica, like many other countries had encouraged citizens to get vaccinated to curtail the spread of COVID-19, but a senior Pfizer executive has admitted that the drug company did not know whether its vaccine prevented transmission of the virus when it began rolling out the shots, globally.
Pfizer’s president of international developed markets, Janine Small, made the shocking disclosure on Monday while testifying before the European Union Parliament.
Small was being questioned by Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Robert “Rob” Roos who wanted to know if the vaccine was tested for stopping the transmission of the virus before it entered the market. She said, “No.”
“We have to really move at the speed of science to really understand what is taking place in the market,” she was reported as saying in the Daily Telegraph.
Small was answering on behalf of Pfizer chief executive, Dr. Albert Bourla, who was scheduled to testify, but pulled out of the hearing earlier this month.
“I think Dr Bourla, even though he’s not here, would turn around and say to you himself, “If not us, then who?’” Small told the Parliament.
Roos later shared a brief clip of Small’s response on Twitter, which has since gone viral. The clip was shared by the executive director/ founder of the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal, Jeanette Calder.
“At EU Parliament COVID Hearing yesterday Oct 10 Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla did not show up though expected, but one Pfizer executive dropped a bombshell as a Committee Member and Parliamentarian’s tweet below shares,” she tweeted.
“Millions of people worldwide felt forced to get vaccinated because of the myth that ‘you do it for others’,” Roos stated in his tweet.
He then declared, “Now this turned out to be a cheap lie. This should be exposed.”
Face-to-face attendance at Jamaican churches and schools was restricted for months, and those traveling were required to show proof of vaccination as part of a raft of measures implemented by the government to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Pfizer is one of three vaccines approved by the Jamaican government for use.