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More than a year after the Florida Supreme Court granted Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request to empanel a statewide grand jury to investigate “criminal or wrongful activity” related to COVID-19 vaccines, the body released its first report and said its probe is “nowhere near complete.”
Their 33-page report released late Friday said “lockdowns were not a good trade” and that “we have never had sound evidence of (masks’) effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 transmission,” among other conclusions.
“In a way, this Grand Jury has allowed us to do something that most Americans simply do not have the time, access, or wherewithal to do: Follow the science,” the report said.
Conclusions in the report on masks contradict recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s guidance says research shows masks are effective in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and recommends as of late January that people with symptoms, people who have tested positive, and people who have been exposed to the virus should wear masks when indoors in public.
The report discussed whether lockdowns, mask mandates and social-distancing guidelines “had a significant impact on the overall risk” of COVID-19.
Among the body’s conclusions:
• Jurisdictions that enforced lockdowns “tended to end up with higher overall excess mortality.”
• “There have always been legitimate questions around the impracticality of individual adherence to mask recommendations, but once it became clear that the primary transmission vector of SARS-CoV-2 was via aerosol, their potential efficacy was further diminished.”
• Social distancing is not “nearly as important … as it is whether they are in an interior or exterior environment and whether that environment is subject to adequate airflow,” information that they said is still “missing from the CDC’s Social Distancing Guidelines.”
• Mask mandates, social distancing guidelines and shutdowns were “not administered based on the best available scientific data.”
• “In fact, many public health recommendations and their attendant mandates departed significantly from scientific research” that was available to everyone at the time.
The report said the grand jury talked with doctors, scientists and professors “with a broad range of viewpoints.” --->READ MORE HERE
Federal agencies have declined to help a Florida grand jury convened by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis investigate the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, the panel said Friday.
In their refusal to participate, some witnesses have told the grand jury that “professional or personal consequences” may arise from their cooperation with the probe, while others have been critical of the “fairness” of the investigation, the panel noted in a 33-page interim report on the inquiry.
“Unfortunately, not all our investigative efforts have been met with fulsome cooperation,” the grand jury report states. “Some prospective witnesses have elected not to testify, often citing potential professional or personal consequences arising from their involvement with the Statewide Grand Jury process.”
“Occasionally, prospective witnesses have raised concerns about the underlying fairness of this Body,” it adds.
None of the federal agencies involved in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines have been forthcoming with information, the grand jury has discovered, and the panel said it has no legal power to force the agencies to furnish information.
“The Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Army, among others, all had a substantial hand in the contracting, approval and distribution process for the COVID-19 vaccines at the center of our inquiry,” the report states. “These agencies have elected not to provide representatives to testify before this body, and federal law prohibits us from compelling their cooperation.” --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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