Ron DeSantis vows grand jury investigation of 'any and all wrongdoing with respect to COVID-19 vaccines'


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced plans to impanel a statewide grand jury tasked with investigating "any and all wrongdoing in Florida with respect to COVID-19 vaccines" during a round table event with the state's Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on Tuesday.
Comparing the action to his state's settlement with drug manufacturers behind the opioid crisis, DeSantis' announcement comes just days after he'd promised to "hold these manufacturers accountable for this mRNA [vaccine]."
"They said there was no side effects," DeSantis explained at a private event over the weekend. "We know that there have been, and there have been a lot." While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has acknowledged that inflammation of the heart tissue occurred "rarely" following mRNA COVID vaccinations, DeSantis claimed during the same event that "We did a study in Florida, and you saw an 86 percent increase in cardiac-related activity from people 18 to 39 from mRNA shots."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
During his event on Tuesday, DeSantis insinuated that the grand jury push was, in part, an effort to make public various reports regarding vaccine efficacy and side effects which manufacturers like Moderna and Pfizer had previously kept private. "We'll be able to get the data whether they want to give it or not," DeSantis vowed.
As The Bulwark's Amanda Carpenter notes, these latest anti-vaccine comments from DeSantis may be part of a broader ramp-up to a potential 2024 presidential run, positioning the governor to the right of former President Donald Trump on COVID-related issues in a play for the GOP base.
Earlier this year, DeSantis made a similar request to impanel a grand jury to focus on another of his tentpole political issues: undocumented immigration and "the effects of those international networks on Florida and how they have violated Florida law." According to Miami Herald reporter Ana Ceballos, the use of statewide grand juries was previously a rarity in Florida politics, occurring just 20 times over the past forty years.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.
-
May 25 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons feature Donald Trump's tariffs, Big pharma, and cuts to Medicaid
-
Why men have a bigger carbon footprint than women
Under the Radar 'Male identity' behaviours behind 'gender gap' in emissions, say scientists
-
5 richly deserved political cartoons about tax breaks for billionaires
Cartoons Artists take on Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
-
Tied Supreme Court blocks church charter school
speed read The court upheld the Oklahoma Supreme Court's decision to bar overtly religious public charter schools
-
GOP megabill would limit judicial oversight of Trump
speed read The domestic policy bill Republicans pushed through the House would protect the Trump administration from the consequences of violating court orders
-
Judge scolds DOJ over Newark mayor arrest
speed read Ras Baraka was arrested during a May 9 surprise visit to a migrant detention facility
-
Trump lectures South Africa president on 'white genocide'
speed read Trump has cut off aid to South Africa over his demonstrably false genocide claims
-
Trump twists House GOP arms on megabill
speed read The bill will provide a $350 billion boost to military and anti-immigration spending and 'cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and green energy programs'
-
Trump DOJ said to pay $5M to family of Jan. 6 rioter
speed read The US will pay a hefty sum to the family of Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot on January 6
-
Trump DOJ charging House Democrat in ICE fracas
speed read Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault over a clash outside an immigration detention facility in Newark
-
Biden diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer
speed read The diagnosis hits close to home, as the former president 'dedicated much of his later career to cancer research'