Tesla CEO and X owner Elon Musk has drawn attention to testimony by a former Pfizer executive who claimed the COVID-19 vaccine should never have been approved and estimated 60,000 COVID vaccine-related deaths in Germany alone.
Musk amplifies COVID vaccine risks
In a series of shared posts and comments, Elon Musk highlighted recent testimony of former Pfizer head of toxicology, Dr. Helmut Sterz, according to reports. The testimony has reignited debate over COVID-19 vaccine safety and the approval process.
Former Pfizer chief toxicologist's shocking claims
Sterz, identified as a former toxicologist associated with pharmaceutical work, testified before the Bundestag's Corona Enquete Commission, Germany's parliamentary inquiry into the COVID-19 response. He testified under questioning about the approval process for the Comirnaty vaccine.
'60,000 deaths' estimate based on underreporting factor
The Paul Ehrlich Institute has received 2,133 reports of deaths after Comirnaty. There is a high dark figure with these spontaneous reports due to underreporting. The real number is therefore much higher. In the USA, an underreporting factor of 30 is assumed, by which the registered cases would have to be multiplied. For Germany that would correspond to 60,000 deaths from the vaccination, Sterz stated in his testimony.
Vaccine 'should never have been approved'
Sterz argued that the speed and nature of the studies conducted would only have been justified for an extremely lethal virus, using Ebola as a comparison. For a virus with effects he compared to the flu, he considered the chosen procedure irresponsible.
Standard preclinical safety studies were skipped or inadequate due to time constraints during the emergency authorisation. This included no carcinogenicity studies, limited reproductive toxicity testing, no proper mutagenicity checks, and incomplete general toxicity or pharmacokinetic studies in appropriate animal models, according to testimony highlights shared by Musk.
Sterz used terms like 'simulated' or 'faked' studies and described the entire process as a 'vaccination tragedy' with millions of victims worldwide.
Comirnaty was not even investigated in clinical development for the prevention of severe illness or death. The Pfizer documents therefore do not allow any recognition of a positive benefit-risk ratio at all, Dr. Sterz testified.
The claims, widely circulated on social media, remain unverified and have not been substantiated by mainstream scientific or regulatory bodies, according to reports.
The testimony has sparked fresh debate about vaccine safety, with Musk's amplification bringing the claims to a global audience through his social media platform.
