The United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization for a new Novavax COVID vaccine on Friday, August 30 [1], which was only a week following their authorization for new COVID vaccines from both the pharmaceutical giants, Moderna, and Pfizer. [2] This comes as no surprise given that the FDA has authorized and promoted a litany of COVID-19 vaccines since their inception in late 2020 and shows no sign of ending that pattern. You can expect the FDA to continue their pattern of granting emergency authorization to a new batch of COVID vaccines every few months as the scheme turns into an annual one akin to the influenza shots.

Speaking of schemes, the COVID vaccine has proved immensely profitable for the major vaccine producers. Pfizer reaped revenues of 3.5 billion dollars in only the first three months of 2021 and the company now expects the jab to bring in 26 billion of revenue in the whole of 2021. [3] In 2023, Moderna projected $5 billion in COVID vaccine sales for the year following the generation of around $36 billion in COVID vaccine sales over the previous two years. [4] With these numbers, it was only an inevitability that the contracts with these vaccine manufacturers would become annual, reaping consistent and reliable profits yearly. Keep in mind, many of these contracts, which are worth billions, are between governments who poach the taxpayer to pay for them without any regard for people’s consent. Subsequently, individuals who have no intention of taking the COVID vaccine are simply paying for a product they’ll never use.

One of the most bizarre aspects of the ritual that sees vaccines approved and announced is the way that the corporate media falls in line to promote it. And the new COVID vaccines for the fall of 2024 are no different. NBC News headlined their article, “The FDA just approved the new Covid vaccine. When to get it and more,” [5] while The Washington Post headlined their piece “New Novavax, mRNA coronavirus vaccines are approved. Here’s what to know.” [6] The NPR headlined their article with the exact same title as NBC News. In Canada, the CBC featured the headline: “Provinces told to pull existing COVID-19 vaccines ahead of arrival of updated shots.” [7] Each major corporate media outlet posted at around the same time, and each dedicated segments to deliberately promote the vaccine and instruct readers where and when they can receive the vaccine. These media outlets are essentially acting as salespeople and are ultimately marketing on behalf of the vaccine distributors. Considering that the governments are the customers of the vaccines, you can also make the case that the media companies are doing the bidding of the government as well.

No one should be surprised that corporate or mainstream media is simply falling in line with either Big Pharma or the government given that the former spends millions on advertising and the latter provides funding through various subsidies if they don’t outright own or control the outlet in question. To provide an example, total pharma advertising spending in 2022 topped 8.1 billion [8] and the CBC, which has fallen in line to promote the newly arriving covid vaccines, is a crown corporation and is thus governed by the Broadcasting Act of 1991, under a board of directors that are directly responsible to Parliament. In other words, government owned and controlled. The Canadian government has also “secured vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax for 2023 and beyond” [9] so the fact that Canadian corporate media outlets are falling over their feet to sell what are essentially government products might as well be part of the scheduled programming.

There are very few health products on the market that are peddled so greatly by both government agencies and the corporate media. Outside of vaccines, there’s very few health products that are outright purchased by the government and given out to the populace. While natural health products and treatments are censored and regulated into oblivion, governments and mainstream media fall over their feet to promote vaccines: the pharmaceutical product that no one is allowed to question but everyone is expected to blindly consume. Even if you’re a strong supporter of vaccines, the ritualistic hold that vaccines have on governments and major corporate media outlets should be concerning. The relationship is corporatist and therefore should be opposed by anyone who values the freedom for people to choose their own medicine and practice their own healthcare without any form of coercion or duress; and that includes being systematically propagandized by the mainstream media as well as being forced to purchase vaccines through government, tax-paid contracts with pharmaceutical companies.

References

1. “FDA Authorizes Updated Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants.” FDA News Release, The United States Food and Drug Administration, 30 Aug. 2024, https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-updated-novavax-covid-19-vaccine-better-protect-against-currently-circulating.

2. “FDA Approves and Authorizes Updated mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines to Better Protect Against Currently Circulating Variants,” FDA News Release, The United States Food and Drug Administration, 22 Aug. 2024, https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-and-authorizes-updated-mrna-covid-19-vaccines-better-protect-against-currently.

3. Jimenez, Darcy. “Pfizer Forecasts $26bn of Covid-19 Vaccine Revenue after First-Quarter Success.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 21 Aug. 2024, finance.yahoo.com/news/pfizer-forecasts-26bn-covid-19-041210172.html.

4. Wingrove, Patrick, and Leroy Leo. Moderna Reports Surprise Profit as It Books Deferred COVID Vaccine Sales | Reuters, 4 May 2023, www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/moderna-beats-covid-vaccine-sales-expectations-deferred-revenue-rolls-2023-05-04/.

5. Lovelace Jr., Berkeley, and Akshay Syal, M.D. “FDA Approves the New Covid Vaccine. Here’s the Best Time to Get It.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group, 22 Aug. 2024, www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-covid-vaccine-what-know-when-available-timing-rcna167121.

6. Nirappil, Fenit. “New Novavax, mRNA voronavirus vaccines are approved. Here’s what to know.” The Washington Post, 30 Aug. 2024, https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/08/22/new-coronavirus-vaccine-covid/

7. Zafar, Amina. “Provinces Told to Pull Existing Covid-19 Vaccines Ahead of Arrival of Updated Shots | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 4 Sept. 2024, www.cbc.ca/news/health/covid-vaccines-1.7313045.

8. Adams, Ben. “The Top 10 Pharma Drug Ad Spenders for 2022.” Fierce Pharma, 1 May 2023, www.fiercepharma.com/special-reports/top-10-pharma-drug-brand-ad-spenders-2022#:~x`:text=In%20all%2C%20spending%20across%20the,even%20keel%20year%20on%20year.

9. Canada’s COVID-19 Vaccine Supply and Donation Strategy. Government of Canada, 17 Apr. 2024, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/vaccines/supply-donation.html.

Image source: Roger Starnes Sr

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