DeSantis-petitioned COVID grand jury asks for more time to complete investigation
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The statewide grand jury impaneled over a year ago to investigate the COVID-19 vaccines, and other aspects of the coronavirus pandemic such as government responses and policies, has requested a six-month extension to continue its investigation.
According to a filing on Monday with the Supreme Court of Florida, the 22nd Statewide Grand Jury would have originally run a course of one year, from June 26, 2023 to June 26 of this year.
Under the request, the group would now be able to run through Dec. 26.
“Despite its diligent efforts, including the issuance of an interim report, the Statewide Grand Jury has not completed its investigation at this time,” the filing said. “A significant amount of work remains that may not be completed before the expiration of the term.”
The grand jury had been faced with issues in its efforts to investigate the decision making behind COVID-19 vaccine approval and rollout.
In the February interim report, the jury said that it was stonewalled in trying to obtain expert testimony from representatives of federal government agencies like the CDC and FDA.
Florida COVID grand jury releases findings, says Biden administration stonewalled efforts
While the governor was primely targeting COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers and their advertisement of vaccine efficacy, the first report drew conclusions mainly on lockdowns and masks, and the grand jury said the issue of the vaccines was far more nuanced and could not be answered in a “vacuum.”
It also said that the Biden administration did not cooperate with efforts to obtain testimony from officials representing agencies like the CDC, FDA and U.S. Army.
Perhaps the grand jury’s biggest obstacle in seeking out DeSantis’ goal of holding vaccine manufacturers accountable, it does not have strong legal authority to compel testimony out of relevant parties.
“These agencies have elected not to provide representatives to testify before this body, and federal law prohibits us from compelling their cooperation,” it said.
The jury added that some “prospective witnesses” raised concerns about whether the grand jury will be “fair,” and said that prospective witnesses would choose not to testify because of “potential professional or personal consequences.”
The grand jury said that it cannot determine the “truth” of statements regarding the “safety” and “effectiveness” of the vaccines without context of the risk of COVID-19.
As a result of that, in its first report, the grand jury focused on the risk of the disease and “other modalities” to contain it, such as lockdowns and masks.
“The COVID-19 vaccines—their approval, their rollout, and their administration—were a significant part of a broad societal response to a true national emergency: A novel disease that is estimated to have killed almost a hundred thousand Floridians and millions worldwide,” the report said.
“There are still many months and much more testimony and evidence to come before our work will be finished,” it said.
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