As Kansas sues Pfizer for deceptive conduct, millions of Americans regret taking a Covid19 vaccine, a survey suggests

The poll result comes days after Kansas became the latest US state to sue pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for misleading and deceptive statements about its Covid-19 vaccine.

Kansas is the latest US state to sue pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for misleading and deceptive statements about its Covid-19 vaccine. Picture: AFP

As Kansas becomes the latest US state to sue pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for misleading and deceptive statements about its Covid-19 vaccine, a poll has found around a quarter of Americans who were vaccinated against the disease now regret taking the shot.

Around a third of Americans also agreed with the statement that Covid-19 vaccines, which were mandated in many jurisdictions around the world in 2021, were ‘killing large numbers of people’, according to a poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports published on Friday (Saturday AEST).

“Forty per cent of Republicans, but only 11 per cent of Democrats and 25 per cent of those not affiliated with either major party, say they never took the vaccine,” Rasmussen reported.

The survey of more than 1200 Americans, which took place earlier this month, found 24 per cent of those who received at least one Covid-19 vaccines now regretted it, while 18 per cent of Americans had ‘no trust’ in the medical and pharmaceutical industries.

The findings emerged days after Kansas Attorney-General Kris Kobach said he would be suing Pfizer for breaking the state’s consumer protection laws, following in the footsteps of his Texas counterpart who similarly sued Pfizer in a still pending case in December.

“Pfizer made multiple misleading statements to deceive the public about its vaccine at a time when Americans needed the truth,” Mr Kobach said in a statement on Monday (Tuesday AEST).

Debate around Covid-19 mandates and the origin of the virus itself erupted once again this month when Anthony Fauci, the former top Covid-19 adviser to the White House, appeared before congress to defend his controversial record in guiding the US through the pandemic.

Robert Redfield, the former head of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, last week said mandating Covid-19 vaccines was a “terrible decision” because they weren’t necessary for healthy younger people and included a risk of injury.

In a 179-page statement of claims Kansas alleges Pfizer deliberately played down the prospect of vaccine injuries, including for pregnant women and young men and made assertions about its effectiveness that the company either knew were false or couldn’t have known.

“Pfizer took advantage of Kansans’ fear of COVID-19 and desire for safety by offering a ‘safe and effective’ COVID-19 vaccine, while concealing, suppressing, and omitting material information that undermined its safety and effectiveness claims,” the document read.

“Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was effective even though it knew its COVID-19 vaccine waned over time and did not protect against COVID-19 variants,” the statement of claims read.

The effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines has come under growing scrutiny in the US in the wake of the pandemic amid reports of injuries and questions about their effectiveness, even as US health authorities continue to recommend everyone aged six months old and over be vaccinated against Covid-19.

The Western Australian government last year in July published data that showed Covid-19 vaccines caused injuries at around 24 times the rate of ordinary scheduled vaccines.

“Pfizer said its COVID-19 vaccine was safe even though it knew its COVID-19 vaccine was connected to serious adverse events, including myocarditis and pericarditis, failed pregnancies, and deaths,” Kansas alleged.

In a public statement Pfizer said its remarks about its Covid-19 vaccines, which created US$75 billion of revenue for the company in two years, had been “been accurate and science-based” dismissing the Kansas case’s merits.

Launching is case in December last year Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said many Texas were “by tyrannical vaccine mandates to take a defective product sold by lies”.

The Biden administration mandated vaccines for all full-time workers in late September 2021, sparking a fierce political debate over a rule that was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court.