Media promote Pfizer pill above vaccines after CEO tests positive

Pfizer's Paxlovid pill appears to have taken center stage as the media's COVID-19 drug of choice. Mainstream media outlets Monday promoted Paxlovid in place of the injections after Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla announced he had tested positive for the virus. 

It began with Bourla’s announcement which touted the company’s new product. 

“I would like to inform the public that I have tested positive for COVID-19,” the pharma mogul said in a statement. “I am grateful to have received four doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and I am feeling well while experiencing very mild symptoms. I have started a course of PAXLOVID™ (nirmatrelvir [PF-07321332] tablets and ritonavir tablets), I am isolating in place as well as following all public health precautions. 

“We have come so far in the past two years in our efforts to battle this disease that I am confident that I will have a speedy recovery. I am incredibly grateful for the tireless efforts of my Pfizer colleagues who worked to make vaccines and treatments available for me and people around the world.” 

Then Bourla added his sales pitch for Paxlovid:

“Paxlovid is not approved, but is authorized for emergency use by the FDA to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients 12+, weighing at least 40 kg, with positive results of SARS-CoV-2 viral testing. See safety info: http://COVID19oralRx.com.”

Media outlets obediently made sure to mention Bourla’s mild symptoms in the headline and most mentioned Paxlovid within the first sentence. Though Bourla thanked the vaccines in his statement first, many media outlets neglected to mention them until the last sentence, breaking a two-year “vaccine-only” narrative.  

“Pfizer CEO Tests Positive for Covid With Mild Symptoms,” reported Bloomberg.  

“Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said he tested positive for Covid-19 and is receiving Paxlovid, the treatment made by his company,” read the article’s first sentence. 

“COVID-19: Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tests positive, experiencing mild symptoms,” reported Jerusalem Post. 

“Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has started the company's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, and was isolating and following all public health precautions,” said the sub headline. The article left mentioning COVID-19 vaccines until the last sentence. 

“Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tests positive for Covid, says he is experiencing very mild symptoms,” reported NBC News via Reuters. 

“Bourla, 60, said he had started a course of the company’s oral Covid-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, and was isolating and following all public health precautions,” read the sub-headline, also leaving any mention of COVID-19 vaccines until the last sentence. 

“Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla shows mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19,” reported The Globe and Mail.  

“Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tests positive for Covid-19 and is experiencing 'very mild symptoms',” reported CNN. 

“Pfizer CEO tests positive for COVID-19, has mild symptoms,” reported the Stamford Advocate, making mention of Paxlovid in the second sentence. 

In June, America’s Frontline News reported that White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha, who helped institute lockdowns in America, also promoted Paxlovid. 

“In the least surprising but still helpful study, Ivermectin is great as a dewormer in horses. It does not work for COVID. We all wish it did. It doesn’t. But thankfully we have drugs that do. Like Paxlovid. So if you get COVID — skip the Ivermectin and get a medicine that works,” Jha tweeted. 

However, not only was Paxlovid found to perform no better than placebo for sustained symptom relief over four consecutive days, Pfizer has stopped enrollment in its Paxlovid trials for less vulnerable populations because the drug has been found to be ineffective, according to Fierce Pharma.