Canadian Government and Media Colluded To ‘Instill Fear,’ Coerce Citizens Into Taking Vaccines – Report ... + Staggering 17 Million Deaths After Covid Vaccine Rollout
Not Surprising! Mockingbird Media Goes Into Psychotic Agenda Mode: Blames COVID-Shot-Related Heart Attacks & Strokes On… Climate Change..Doran Fink (He/Him).On Bubbles and Empathic Network Dysfunction
Staggering 17 Million Deaths After Covid Vaccine Rollout -Drs. Denis Rancourt, Marine Baudin & Jérémie Mercier
By Glen / December 3, 2023
(Nov. 19, 2023) A groundbreaking study by Drs. Denis Rancourt, Marine Baudin and Jérémie Mercier found 17 million people died worldwide after the Covid “vaccine” rollout.
“We calculate the toxicity of the vaccine for all ages,” explained Dr. Rancourt, “given the number of doses given worldwide to conclude that 17 million people would have been killed by this vaccine.”
The shocking study, COVID-19 vaccine-associated mortality in the Southern Hemisphere, was published September 17, 2023, and, rather than garnering worldwide attention, has met only censorship and narrative-confirming “fact-checks” on the safety and effectiveness of the as-yet untested Covid-19 “vaccines.”
Watch our interview from International Crisis Summit 4 in the Romanian Parliament.
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(Nov. 19, 2023) A groundbreaking study by Drs. Denis Rancourt, Marine Baudin, Jérémie Mercier and Joseph Hickey found 17 million people died worldwide after the Covid “vaccine” rollout.
“We calculate the toxicity of the vaccine for all ages,” explained Dr. Rancourt, “given the number of doses given worldwide to conclude that 17 million people would have been killed by this vaccine.”
The shocking study, COVID-19 vaccine-associated mortality in the Southern Hemisphere, was published September 17, 2023, and, rather than garnering worldwide attention, has met only censorship and narrative-confirming “fact-checks” on the safety and effectiveness of the as-yet untested Covid-19 “vaccines.”
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Modern Art Embraces Witchcraft » Sons of Liberty Media
BOMBSHELL: OB-GYN Testifies Before Congress on Alarming Miscarriage Spike Among Vaxxed Women, “I’ve Never Seen This Before”
Rural Hospitals In Crisis
Not Surprising! Mockingbird Media Goes Into Psychotic Agenda Mode: Blames COVID-Shot-Related Heart Attacks & Strokes On… Climate Change
The Balfour Declaration: Context & Content & Why It Matters In The Ongoing Zionist Agenda
Important Read:
SOME FACTORS IN STRESS, INSOMNIA AND THE BRAIN SYNDROMES:
Canadian Government and Media Colluded To ‘Instill Fear,’ Coerce Citizens Into Taking Vaccines – Report
The 5,000-page report detailed how the COVID-19 response by the government was vastly irresponsible, unscientific, and against basic human rights.
DEC 5, 2023
By Naveen Athrappully December 4, 2023
The Canadian government and media spread fear among citizens about the COVID-19 pandemic while implementing measures to force them into taking vaccines under threat of potential reprisals, according to a report by the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI).
“The pandemic was a textbook case of the collaboration of government and industry to subvert the democratic institutions and convince the citizens of the validity and truthfulness of a narrative that was objectively false from the start,” the Nov. 28 report reads.
The Canadian government, together with provincial governments and the mainstream media, “embarked on an information campaign designed to instill fear in the hearts of the citizens and ensure that they did not resist any and all draconian measures that were announced,” it states.
The NCI, a citizen-led and -funded effort to examine Canada’s pandemic response, pointed out in its report that the principle of “my body, my choice,” popularized by feminists, “vanished during the second year of the pandemic.” Instead, there was a “constant drumbeat” from public officials and media characterizing COVID-19 vaccines as “safe and effective.”
Politicians and public figures chimed in, saying pandemic restrictions wouldn't be lifted unless everyone “did their part.”
“Canadians who hesitated to get vaccinated were branded as anti-vaxxers, despite having voluntarily received every other vaccine, recommended by public health, in their lives,” the report reads.
“Politicians encouraged people to blame the unvaccinated for the restrictive measures that stopped them from getting back to normal. Those who had taken the COVID-19 vaccines felt morally superior and validated in scorning those who didn’t ‘do the right thing.’ Public shaming became a societal norm.”
The government framed issues in a “particular way, using emotionally charged language, or by exploiting existing biases,” spreading them to the public through media. This allowed them to influence how “people perceived events, individuals, or groups,” according to the NCI.
The report points to the example of the Freedom Convoy protests—a series of demonstrations by Canadian truckers who wanted to do away with COVID-19 mandates imposed by the government that affected truckers who worked between Canada and the United States.
The Freedom Convoy demonstrators “peacefully protested” against mandates, according to the report.
"[Yet] the government used mainstream media to portray these people as violent, racists, and anarchists, who were threatening the very lives of the people of Ottawa,” it reads.
Propaganda was used to stifle dissenting voices and alternative perspectives, according to the report.
“Both media and government personalities demonized dissenting opinions. Their labels of ‘anti-vaxxer’ or ‘science deniers’ were intended to associate people who did not consent to the experimental injections with ‘Holocaust deniers.’ Many people fell prey to the fear of being labelled and remained silent,” it reads.
Whether the media was “state-controlled” during the pandemic or simply bought into the governments’ messaging and began repeating such narratives without question was “not discovered through testimony at the inquiry.” A deeper investigation into the matter needs to be carried out, the report states.
“Regardless, the cooperation of the media with the government during this time created a campaign of propaganda and terrorism that represents a grave violation of human rights, democratic values, and the principles of international law,” it reads.
Vaccine Mandates
The report points out that coercion was applied to “virtually every aspect of Canadians’ lives” during the pandemic. Workplace vaccination mandates forced even workers who never intended to get a COVID-19 vaccine to take the shot, as people were afraid to lose their jobs. The government also blocked employment insurance for people who lost jobs because they didn't get vaccinated.
The NCI heard testimony from several witnesses who said that “they or a loved one felt compelled to take the injection, under the threat of losing their livelihood.”
Several educational institutions implemented vaccination requirements, such as denying unvaccinated students access to classes to “coerce students to get vaccinated.” The government imposed vaccine mandates for domestic and international travel.
The announcement that unvaccinated people wouldn't be allowed to sit near vaccinated individuals on planes came at a time when “it was already known that vaccinated people could transmit the COVID-19 virus to other vaccinated people.”
“This inconvenient fact went unacknowledged so that pressure on the unvaccinated could continue,” the report reads.
Vaccine passes were designed to prevent unvaccinated individuals from accessing anything not deemed essential, including visiting their children’s school and services such as restaurants, gyms, and movie theaters.
“The message was clear: if you want access to these people/things that you like/love, you must submit to vaccination,” the NCI stated.
In October 2021, the Canadian federal government imposed vaccine mandates in the public sector, requiring proof of vaccination from federal public servants as well as people employed in federally regulated industries such as banking. Individuals who didn't show proof of vaccination or had a medical or religious exemption were placed on unpaid leave.
People traveling on VIA Rail trains and on cruise ships also had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result.
In Alberta, Canada, the provincial government required movie theaters, restaurants, and sports venues to ask patrons for vaccination proof or negative COVID-19 test results. British Columbia also imposed such restrictions.
Vaccines 'Should be Stopped Immediately'
The NCI report is based on the testimony of more than 300 members of the public and expert witnesses.
Although subpoenas were issued to 63 members of the government, authorities, and regulators, none of them appeared at the hearing to give testimony.
In his remarks during the hearing, NCI Commissioner and Chairperson Ken Drysdale said the testimonies “provide irrefutable evidence that an unprecedented assault has been waged against the citizens of Canada,” according to a Nov. 28 statement.
“Not since World War II has the nation experienced such a devastating attack on its people,” he said. “Many public and private bodies such as schools, medical providers and regulators, unions, justice and policing all failed Canadians. These institutions and individuals must also be held to account.”
The report recommends that the “current use of COVID-19 genetic vaccines in Canada that were authorized under the revised provisions of the Interim Order and the newly revised Food and Drug Regulations, should be stopped immediately.”
A full judicial investigation into the authorization process under which the COVID-19 vaccines were approved must be carried out, it states.
Representatives for Health Canada didn't respond by press time to a request by The Epoch Times for comment.
Source: theepochtimes.com
Health Canada has had several names since its inception in 1919. Despite how innocuous its name and mandate sound, this organization had an initial purpose: population control.
Health Canada Initially Created For Population Control Measures
FEBRUARY 6, 2022
I’m sure that by now you know that “Prepare” is just code for “Plan”.
Why were partnerships between the federal government and the information technology industry, including a number of social media companies, so vital to increasing overall uptake of the Corovax vaccine? - page 58, SPARS 2017
Despite the uncertain science about the link between Coravax and the reported neurological symptoms, why should health officials still communicate with compassion and genuine sympathy toward those in the vaccinated population who experience medical issues subsequent to being vaccinated? - page 62, SPARS 2017
Remember how we sent over one million emails to FDA regulator Doran Fink in 2021 and 2022 pointing out the problems with Covid vaccines in kids? This past February (2023) Dr. Fink went to work for Moderna. Because of course he did. This was just three months after VRBPAC member Oveta Fuller died suddenly and unexpectedly from getting both a flu and Covid shot at the same appointment — something the FDA assured the public was safe. Peter Doshi at The BMJ is not happy about it. Apparently the FDA, CDC, NIH, and the White House are not troubled at all by this brazen (indeed genocidal) corruption. This is the face of the banality of evil.
Doran landed on his feet, and I thought it important to spread the word on this next chapter of his career and also circulate BMJ’s (Peter Doshi) thoughts on the matter (see below).
But first I want to start with a government created bubble and this wonderful essay by EGM.
how higher education became a cargo cult - by el gato malo (substack.com)
the percentage of americans getting college degrees has exploded from around 4% in 1940 to the mid 37%’s now and this actually understates the issue as this is just the number who successfully completed a 4 year degree. over 70% of recent high school grads enroll in college which means that around 45% of 16-24 year olds are enrolled in college and more than half were at some point. what was once 1 in 20 is now 1 in 2. and that’s a VERY different thing and this is where the cargo cult emerges:
an institution for the top 5 percentiles of a society is a very different place than an institution for the whole top half. it must be structured differently, work differently, place different demands, and perhaps most of all: it’s output and the outcomes of those who attended are going to be different. college is not magic. it does not make people more motivated or smarter. it may select for these traits, it does not make those who attend “higher percentile” in terms of innate ability or expected outcome. [Emphasis added]
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this is a VERY expensive cult to join, one so expensive and whose payback is sufficiently poor that very few private underwriters would lend against it (92-95% of student loans are government) and that, just like the housing bubble, is being driven by a government that lends without regard to ability to repay to people who fail to understand the proposition and are mistaking the marker of a thing for the thing itself. it’s homeownership all over again except that not even BK discharges most kinds of student debt. it’s become such an obvious trap that even the feckless federales want to just write it off.
So, here is a working thesis:
The Government financed a degree bubble, creating far more degrees than society needed.
It created far too many abstract thinkers; far more than society needed.
There is not enough demand in the real world for this volume of pontificators.
Resentment ensued.
So, said another way, the government manufactured a bubble of Resentment. Far, far more resentment than society requires.
This excess resentment organized itself into the ideological ropes of Post-Modernism and Neo-Marxism, that were braided into Woke.
So, the Government manufactured a bubble of Woke.
Woke is the Politics of Resentment.
Woke is anti-merit, anti-individual, anti-boundaries, and anti-borders.
Woke is Collective.
Collective is Authoritarian and Totalitarian.
So, the Government manufactured today’s bubble of Totalitarianism.
This from the great Australian writer, Paul Collits.
Two Approaches to Escaping Tyranny - by Paul Collits (substack.com)
Ramesh Thakur…has also argued that woke ideology and its supine acceptance by Western peoples enabled the emergence of Covid Tyranny.
https://brownstone.org/articles/covid-in-the-age-of-woke/
In other words, woke enabled Covid totalitarianism, and Covid totalitarianism has become a test case of, and model for, the permanent subjugation of formerly free people in formerly liberal societies. See under proposed climate change lockdowns and restrictions on travel as one example coming down the pipeline. See also under digital currencies with implied social credit regimes attached, under further restrictions on free speech through dis- and mis-information legislation, and under digital ID legislation like the digital wallet initiative just announced by the European Union.
Yes, Woke enabled Covid Totalitarianism, but it would be truer to say that Woke enabled Totalitarianism.
That Totalitarianism is using Empire’s seeded frameworks of Climate, Race and Gender to expand and control ever more territory.
Empire’s Religions - Lies are Unbekoming (substack.com)
The question arises: what can serve as an overarching religion (or collection of religions) that will support and stabilize increased USA global economic predation in the unipolar context following the fall of the Soviet Union, in a globalized world built on “universal human rights” since the end of WWII, in which multicultural immigration is a labour-supply reality? – Rancourt
Here are “200-plus medical journals” doing Woke Totalitarianism.
More than 200 medical journals are calling on the World Health Organization to deem two overlapping environmental crises — climate change and biodiversity loss — as a global health emergency, while warning of the potential for "catastrophic harm" to human health.
In the co-ordinated editorial published on Wednesday, a team of authors outlined the dire impacts linked to rising temperatures, extreme weather events and the loss of wildlife.
I want to take a detour for a moment and talk about The Dark Triad, that seems to be fairly popular at the moment.
The Dark Triad is a term in psychology that refers to a cluster of three personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. These traits are considered to be socially malevolent, meaning they can lead to harmful behaviors and attitudes towards others.
1. Narcissism: Characterized by grandiosity, pride, egotism, and a lack of empathy. Individuals high in this trait often have an inflated sense of self-importance and a strong desire for admiration and attention.
2. Machiavellianism: Associated with manipulation and exploitation of others, a cynical disregard for morality, and a focus on self-interest and deception. Those with high Machiavellian traits are often adept at using others for their own gain.
3. Psychopathy: Identified by persistent antisocial behavior, impulsivity, selfishness, callousness, and remorselessness. This trait is often linked with a higher risk for criminal activity and is characterized by a lack of empathy and a superficial charm used to manipulate others.
I believe that Minna Lyons popularized the term in her 2019 book:
The Dark Triad of Personality: Narcissism,... by Lyons, Minna (amazon.com)
Under the section of Environmental Influences there is the interesting passage:
There is a wealth of studies investigating how parenting that a child receives influences adult personality. Many of these studies are retrospective in nature, asking adults to try to recall how their parents treated them when they were children. Studies on the Dark Triad and parenting indicate that recollections of a cold, uncaring mother may lead to the lack of secure attachment, which could influence the development of Machiavellian strategies and some aspects of narcissism as an adult (Jonason, Lyons, & Bethell, 2014). Further, recollections of uncaring mothers have an association with high primary psychopathy in women and high secondary psychopathy in men (Blanchard, Lyons, & Centifanti, 2016a, 2016b).
In short, parent blaming, especially mother blaming is still fashionable.
This section followed the typical insinuation that genetics might also be a factor (another form of parent blaming).
Obviously, vaccination nor any other form of industrial environmental toxin factors into Lyons’ thinking and thesis.
This reminds me of arguably my favourite essay of the GMC by Ann Bauer.
I Have Been Through This Before - Tablet Magazine
In his 2007 book, Madness on the Couch: Blaming the Victim in the Heyday of Psychoanalysis, science writer Edward Dolnick reported that papers show Bettelheim knew his methods couldn’t cure autism in 1964 but continued publishing, pushing the refrigerator-mother theory and removing children from their families for decades, admitting only in his final manuscript—published posthumously—that “nobody knows how to treat these children.”
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The refrigerator-mother theory of autism became gospel, not just among psychiatrists but in the zeitgeist. It made sense and was easy to grasp. Better, it turned a mysterious and heartbreaking condition into a simple problem of who was to blame. People rallied behind the idea that cold mothers caused autism because it gave them comfort. Mothers whose children developed normally knew it was because they were “good.” Fathers and other relatives of autistic children were off the hook.
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After Bettelheim’s death, when allegations of abuse started streaming in from both workers and residents, a journalist and former literary editor at The Nation, Richard Pollack, began working on a memoir about his brother who had been a resident at the Orthogenic School. Among the things Pollack uncovered in his research for The Creation of Doctor B: A Biography of Bruno Bettelheim: Under Bettelheim’s directorship researchers routinely mislabelled children as autistic or retarded who were not, in order to raise their “cure rate” and increase funding and grants.
There is a long and sordid history of blaming the mother for the sins of the doctor.
Now back to The Dark Triad…
What I think of when I see these three traits is Damaged Empathy.
There is a physiological and biochemical framework to Empathy.
Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of others, involves multiple areas of the brain. There isn't a single "empathy center" in the brain; instead, a network of regions works together. Key areas involved include:
1. The Prefrontal Cortex: This region, particularly the medial prefrontal cortex, is involved in understanding and reflecting upon the mental states of others. It plays a role in cognitive empathy, which is the ability to consciously recognize and consider the emotions of others.
2. The Amygdala: Known for its role in processing emotions, the amygdala is crucial for emotional empathy. It helps individuals to feel what another person is experiencing, creating an emotional resonance or mirroring of others' feelings.
3. The Anterior Insula: This area is associated with visceral or gut feelings and is thought to be important in experiencing and perceiving the emotional states of others, contributing to the emotional aspect of empathy.
4. The Temporoparietal Junction (TPJ): Located at the boundary of the temporal and parietal lobes, the TPJ is involved in the perception of agency, perspective taking, and theory of mind (the ability to understand others' mental states and intentions).
5. Mirror Neuron System: While not a specific brain region, the mirror neuron system, which includes parts of the frontal and parietal lobes, is thought to be involved in empathy. These neurons fire both when an individual performs an action and when they observe someone else performing the same action, potentially helping in understanding others' actions and intentions.
What could damage this Empathy Network?
Inflammation.
Inflammation of the brain.
Inflammation of the developing brain.
We now know what autism is; it’s the consequence of inflammation of the brain. Primarily caused by childhood vaccination.
Real Autism Science - Lies are Unbekoming (substack.com)
A particular type of white blood cell, a macrophage, acting as the body’s garbagemen, and doing their job, “clean up” or “gobble up” the aluminum, but they cannot “digest” it, so it stays inside them “the garbage truck” and gets sent around the body, including to the brain. The garbage men deliver the aluminum to the brain, acting, unwittingly, as Trojan horses.
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The aluminium causes the immune activation, and because it cannot be “processed” it causes permanent immune activation, inflammation and swelling.
But we would be naïve, even stupid, to think that Autism (and its currently framed “spectrum”) is the only consequence of an inflamed brain.
Autophagy - Lies are Unbekoming (substack.com)
This is the first time I’ve seen “Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder” in one sentence. If ASD is caused by persistent inflammation, messing about with the brain’s normal development, it makes perfect sense to me that other mental disorders would emerge from exactly the same environment, such as schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
When you ignite a fire in a child’s brain, all hell breaks loose. Quite literally as we are now discovering.
So, could the inflammation fire in the baby’s brain damage the Empathy Network?
Brain inflammation in a developing brain can have significant impacts on various brain structures, including those involved in the empathy network. This can occur due to a variety of causes, such as infection, autoimmune disorders, trauma, or exposure to harmful substances. The impact of inflammation on the empathy network can be understood in several key ways:
1. Cellular Damage and Dysfunction: Inflammation can lead to cellular damage and death in the brain. This is particularly concerning in developing brains, where neural connections are still forming. Damage to areas like the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, anterior insula, and temporoparietal junction can impair the functions these areas serve, including aspects of empathy.
2. Disruption of Neural Connectivity: The development of neural pathways and the strengthening of synaptic connections are crucial in early brain development. Inflammation can disrupt this process, leading to altered connectivity within the brain. This can impact how different regions of the brain communicate with each other, potentially affecting the integrated network that supports empathy.
3. Altered Neurotransmitter Systems: Inflammation can affect the balance of neurotransmitters, chemicals that facilitate communication between neurons. Changes in neurotransmitter levels and function can influence mood, behavior, and cognitive functions, including those related to empathy.
4. Impact on Developmental Milestones: In a developing brain, inflammation can interfere with critical developmental milestones. Since the development of empathy is a complex process that evolves as children grow, any disruption in normal brain development can have long-term consequences on empathetic abilities.
5. Behavioral and Cognitive Effects: Brain inflammation can result in various behavioral and cognitive issues, which might include difficulties in social interaction, challenges in understanding others' emotions and perspectives, and problems with emotional regulation – all of which are related to empathy.
Killing is a business model
“The pharmaceutical industry is as interested in world health as the arms industry is in world peace.” — Dr. Simon Goddek
If 1 in 36 has autism.
How many have Empathy Damage?
I’m going to propose a name for this condition.
Empathic Network Dysfunction Syndrome (ENDS)
So, where does that leave us?
Empire subsides and through force and coercion creates a bubble of Brain Inflammation creating fertile ground for the follow up bubble of Resentment and Woke Totalitarianism that subsidizes and forces more Brain Inflammation.
And so on…
Doran Fink (He/Him) is a product of Empire.
I hope that one day, when we look back at this suicidal and genocidal period in human history, it will be acknowledged that Empire, through vaccination, inflamed the brain of the world and in so doing opened the doors of hell.
Empire starts fires in baby’s brains and then profits from the ashes.
I’m starting to wonder if the fires of Hell are more than just a metaphor.
Western allopathic medicine as presently constituted is the formalized practice of medical barbarism. – Toby Rogers
I’ll leave you with Doshi’s brave and excellent outline of Empire’s corruption.
The FDA and Moderna’s cosy relationship: how lax rules enable a revolving door culture
Published 01 November 2023 - Peter Doshi, senior editor
After holding oversight roles for covid vaccines, two regulators from the US Food and Drug Administration went to work for Moderna. Peter Doshi reports
The physician-scientist Doran Fink worked his way up at the Food and Drug Administration, with a focus on the regulation of vaccines. Starting as a clinical reviewer in 2010, he was promoted to lead medical officer in the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, overseeing a small team of medical officers responsible for infectious diseases and related biological products.
During the covid-19 pandemic Fink took on a public role, appearing in numerous FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee meetings to discuss covid vaccines and serving on the senior leadership team for covid vaccine review and policy activities. Part of his role was to engage vaccine manufacturers to advise on the development of vaccines during the pandemic. In mid-2020 Fink announced the FDA’s expectations for any covid vaccine that the agency would consider authorising, and he took part in the ultimate decision to license the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Fink’s LinkedIn profile states that he finished his role at the FDA in December 2022. Two months later he was working at Moderna, heading the translational medicine and early clinical development programme in infectious diseases. He is one of two regulators The BMJ has found to have recently moved to Moderna from the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review.
Concerns about a “revolving door”—movement of people between the government and the private sector—have persisted for decades, with public confidence in the balance over the integrity of government decision making.1–3 Craig Holman, who serves as government affairs lobbyist for the consumer advocacy organisation Public Citizen, says that government service is fundamentally different from private sector work. Those in the public sector “are expected to serve the public interest,” he says. “And so, we need safeguards to make sure they are serving the public interest.”
Jeremy Kahn, FDA press officer, told The BMJ that the FDA has “more enhanced ethics restrictions than most other federal agencies. The FDA takes seriously its obligation to help ensure that decisions made and actions taken, by the agency and its employees, are not, nor appear to be, tainted by any question of conflict of interest. The agency provides robust information and resources to employees regarding the steps that must be taken to fulfil these ethics obligations.”
But The BMJ has found that the FDA keeps no records on where employees go after they leave government service. Nor does it require employees to undergo an approval or clearance process before taking up an industry job. Employees are required to adhere to post-government employment guidance: restrictions include a permanent ban on “switching sides,” defined as “a lifetime ban on communicating to or appearing before the government on behalf of their new employer or anyone else regarding specific party matters in which they participated personally and substantially during their entire government service.” And those who have begun seeking or negotiating an industry job “must immediately recuse from participation in any official matter that involves the prospective employer as an identified party.”4 Adherence, however, is inevitably self-enforced.
Holman says, “The revolving door is particularly abusive in agencies that have a huge flood of money going in. That’s a big problem with the FDA, especially with the pandemic and Operation Warp Speed”—referring to the public health-military-industrial partnership tasked with expediting a coronavirus vaccine to market.
Holman notes that the FDA could legally prohibit its employees from working for companies they had regulated, and those entering the FDA “could be required to sign an ethics pledge saying they will not take any official actions that affect their former employers or clients.” He suggests a “cooling-off” period of at least two years: “You need a period of time where the close relationships and the networks kind of break down.” Under President Obama, for example, all executive agency appointees were prohibited from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving their position.5 Holman’s research6 has found that most US states have cooling-off laws that prevent former government officials from lobbying their previous agency for one to two years, and Florida recently extended its cooling-off period to six years.
The revolving door
The perils of a revolving door between the FDA and industry were vividly captured in the case of Curtis Wright and Purdue Pharma, a story now chronicled in books and on television.7–10 At the FDA, Wright led the agency’s 1995 approval of OxyContin, which came with specific labelling language that described the opioid as having less misuse potential—a centrepiece in Purdue’s campaign to market the drug for increasingly broad populations.11 The book Empire of Pain states that, in a sworn deposition, “Wright allowed that he might have” written the key labelling passage.7 Around a year after leaving the FDA he took up a $379 000 (£312 000; €360 000) a year position with Purdue.
While the case of Purdue Pharma is particularly egregious, studies suggest that post-FDA industry employment is not uncommon. In a 2016 study published in The BMJ, researchers followed the trajectories of 55 medical reviewers involved in drug approvals in FDA’s haematology-oncology division over several years. Of 26 officers who left the FDA, 15 later worked or consulted for industry.12 A separate investigation by Science magazine in 2018 similarly reported that “11 of 16 FDA medical examiners who worked on 28 drug approvals and then left the agency for new jobs are now employed by or consult for the companies they recently regulated. This can create at least the appearance of conflicts of interest.”13
Similarly to Fink, Jaya Goswami started at the FDA in its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research in March 2020. As a medical officer she had, in her words, “broad oversight over vaccines and biologics clinical development” and was responsible for evaluating whether the clinical data for Moderna’s covid vaccine met regulatory standards for approval; licensure was granted at the end of January 2022. Goswami’s LinkedIn profile states that she left the FDA in June 2022 and that same month started a new role as director of clinical development in infectious diseases at Moderna.
Goswami and Fink did not respond to requests for an interview. The BMJ asked Goswami, Fink, Moderna, and the FDA whether either of the former regulators sought guidance from the FDA’s Office of Ethics and Integrity before moving to Moderna, as well as whether they recused themselves from any FDA matters related to their employment search. The FDA instructed The BMJ to file a Freedom of Information Act request for this information, which The BMJ has done, and Moderna’s vice president of communications and media, Chris Ridley, replied, “We have no comment on your inquiry.”
At Moderna, Goswami has been involved in the company’s efforts to bring to market an mRNA vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (mRNA-1345). In July this year the company announced that it had submitted applications for regulatory approval in the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Switzerland. In the US the review can be expected to be conducted by the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, the group Fink and Goswami departed.
Moderna’s deepening connection with the government
Before the pandemic, Moderna had limited regulatory experience. The company, founded in 2010, had pursued a variety of mRNA platform products, but in its decade long history it had yet to bring a single product to market.
With covid, Moderna’s fortunes changed. Moncef Slaoui, a career pharma executive and prominent member of Moderna’s board of directors, was appointed by President Trump to co-lead Operation Warp Speed. With his appointment, Slaoui sold his whole shareholding of around $12m of Moderna stock and resigned from the Moderna board, but he kept an estimated $10m stake in GlaxoSmithKline, another recipient of Operation Warp Speed funds. Slaoui took the job as a contractor, which meant that he was not subject to the disclosure and divestiture ethical requirements of federal government employees.
On behalf of Public Citizen, Holman filed an ethics complaint against Slaoui, not upheld, urging him to be classified as a “special government employee” subject to federal conflict of interest code and disclosure requirements.
Under Slaoui’s orchestration, Moderna quickly emerged as a frontrunner.14 A phase 1 clinical trial commenced in March 2020, 66 days after the viral sequence was released, and by midsummer the US had pledged $955m towards a phase 3 trial, with an additional $1.5bn promised through an advance purchase agreement due on delivery of 100 million doses. (By March 2021 a congressional report estimated that Moderna had $4.94bn in federal funding for a total of 300 million doses.15)
On 18 December 2020, under the leadership of FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn, the FDA granted a world first authorisation to Moderna’s covid vaccine, mRNA-1273. Six months later, after resigning his post with the transition to the Biden administration, Hahn joined Flagship Pioneering—“the venture fund that birthed Moderna.”16