Pfizer cannot use the government as a shield from liability for making false claims about its COVID-19 vaccine, lawyers for a whistleblower argued in response to Pfizer's motion to dismiss a False Claims Act lawsuit.

"Respondents claim fraudulent certifications, false statements, doctored data, contaminated clinical trials, and firing of whistleblowers can be ignored based on the theory that they contracted their way around the fraud," lawyers for Brook Jackson, who worked as regional director at one of the clinical trials used to develop the Pfizer vaccine, wrote in their Aug. 22 response.

"A drug company cannot induce the taxpayers to pay billions of dollars for a product," they countered, "that honest data would show poses more risks than benefits, and that ignores the actual contract and the law itself."