Landmark Case in Germany: BioNTech Faces Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects

In a landmark development, BioNTech SE, the German biotechnology company that partnered with Pfizer Inc. to produce one of the first COVID-19 vaccines, is now facing its first legal challenge in Germany over vaccine side effects.

In an unprecedented case that could potentially spark hundreds of similar claims across Germany, the plaintiff – a woman who has chosen to remain anonymous due to Germany’s privacy laws – is suing BioNTech for a minimum of €150,000 ($161,500) in damages.

According to Reuters, she cites “damages for bodily harm as well as compensation for unspecified material damage,” as detailed by Hamburg’s regional court and the law firm representing her, Rogert & Ulbrich.

Side effects listed in the suit include upper-body pain, swollen extremities, fatigue, and sleeping disorders attributed to the BioNTech Pfizer vaccine.

The landmark case’s first hearing will take place on Monday.

More lawsuits are coming in Germany. Rogert & Ulbrich reports filing about 250 cases for clients seeking damages for COVID-19 vaccine side effects. Another law firm, Caesar-Preller, claims to represent 100 cases, collectively covering almost all such cases in Germany. A few similar cases have been filed in Italy.

Reuters reported:

Tobias Ulbrich, a lawyer at Rogert & Ulbrich, told Reuters he aimed to challenge in court the assessment made by European Union regulators and German vaccine assessment bodies that the BioNTech shot has a positive risk-benefit profile.

German pharmaceutical law states that makers of drugs or vaccines are only liable to pay damages for side-effects if “medical science” shows that their products cause disproportionate harm relative to their benefits or if the label information is wrong.

BioNTech, which holds the marketing authorisation in Germany for the shot it developed with Pfizer <PFE.N>, said it concluded after careful consideration that the case was without merit.

“The positive benefit-risk profile of Comirnaty remains positive and the safety profile has been well characterised,” the biotech firm said, referring to the vaccine’s brand name.

It noted about 1.5 billion people had received the shot across the world, including more than 64 million in Germany.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also claimed that BioNTech’s Comirnaty, the most prevalent vaccine in the Western world, is “safe for use.”

EMA claimed that vaccines have helped save almost ’20 million lives globally’ in the first year of the pandemic alone. While acknowledging a ‘rare’ risk of myocarditis and pericarditis, two types of heart inflammation, primarily in young males post-vaccination, the EMA affirms that safety monitoring was not compromised during fast-track assessments.

Reuters reported that the liability issue remains uncertain, especially regarding who would pay legal costs or compensation if the plaintiff wins. EU’s bulk purchase agreements with vaccine manufacturers, including BioNTech-Pfizer, reportedly contain full or partial liability waivers for legal costs and potential compensation, which could force EU governments to bear some costs.

Germany, like many countries, has a no-fault compensation program for individuals who suffer permanent harm from vaccines. However, participation in this program does not preclude an individual from seeking damages separately.

In contrast, the United States has granted manufacturers immunity from liability for COVID vaccines receiving regulatory approval.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/landmark-case-germany-biontech-faces-lawsuit-covid-19/

DEVELOPING: Trump’s Legal Team Prepares to File Motion to Dismiss Jack Smith’s Case Citing Prosecutorial Misconduct

Trump’s legal team is preparing to file a motion to dismiss Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case citing prosecutorial misconduct.

Trump’s lawyers will ask Judge Aileen Cannon to unseal Obama-appointed Judge Beryl Howell’s order obliterating Trump’s attorney-client privilege with his lawyer Eric Corcoran.

Via RealClearInvestigations reporter Paul Sperry: Insiders say Trump’s new legal team preparing to file motion to dismiss case citing prosecutorial misconduct & will ask Judge Cannon to unseal Obama-appointed Judge Howell’s order breaching attorney-client privilege b/t Corcoran and Trump and declare notes inadmissable

As The Gateway Pundit reported, Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, was first assigned to oversee Jack Smith’s classified documents case and January 6 case against Trump.

Judge Beryl Howell ruled against Trump at every turn!

In fact, Judge Howell previously ordered Trump’s lawyer Evan Corcoran to testify before a grand jury in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into classified documents stored at Mar-a-Lago.

Judge Howell flipped Trump’s own lawyer Eric Corcoran into a witness when she obliterated Trump’s attorney client privilege in a ruling.

Howell ruled DOJ prosecutors ‘met the threshold for the crime-fraud exception’ for Trump’s attorney.

Jack Smith used Eric Corcoran’s notes against Trump.

According to the indictment reviewed by The Gateway Pundit, Jack Smith used notes memorialized by Trump’s lawyer against the former president.

Trump’s privileged conversations with his lawyer about the boxes of documents stored at Mar-a-Lago was used to charge Trump with conspiracy to obstruct (count 32), withholding a document or record (count 33), corruptly concealing a document or record (count 34) and false statements (count 37).

Trump’s attorneys Jim Trusty and John Rowley stepped down on Friday after Trump was indicted by a Florida grand jury.

President Trump will be arraigned at a federal court in Miami on Tuesday.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/06/developing-trumps-legal-team-preparing-motion-dismiss-jack/

USDA Allocates $714M for Broadband in 19 States despite Americans Having Already Paid for Deployment and Activation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) dished out a heaping portion of broadband funding on Monday, awarding $714 million from the ReConnect program to cover 33 buildouts in 19 states. The funding tally amounts to nearly two-thirds of the $1.15 billion being allocated as part of ReConnect Round Four.

The money includes just over $420 million in grants and $293.7 million in loans, which will be used to cover more than 90,000 locations including residences, farms, businesses and educational institutions. There were no big names among the award winners, which were instead mostly comprised of utility companies, electric cooperatives and local internet service providers.

“It’s no secret here without government support and without government assistance, it is highly unlikely that a lot of these projects would actually take place,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said during a call with the press. “That would mean that we would have basically two Americas: one America that was connected and one America that wasn’t. The reality is the President feels very, very strongly that we should be one America, especially when it comes to broadband access and the capabilities and opportunities that it creates.”

States receiving funding included Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Washington. A full list of projects can be found here.

The award is the third in the USDA’s fourth round of ReConnect funding. USDA previously doled out $40 million in April to covering a trio of projects in New Mexico and $17 million in May for a buildout in Vermont. The USDA previously said it was planning to hand out a total of $1.15 billion in Round 4, but an official on the press call noted it is looking at increasing that amount since more funding has become available to the agency.

USDA’s distribution of broadband funding comes as the government gears up to dole out more than $42 billion as part of the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. According to White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitchell Landreiu, there is “substantial collaboration and coordination” between the USDA and the other agencies responsible for doling out funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to ensure “that we’re not duplicating our efforts or laying fiber optic cable in the same place with two separate sets of funds.”

Those agencies would include, of course, the Department of Commerce, which is tasked with handing out $45 billion in funding (including the BEAD money) via the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The NTIA is expected to announce BEAD allocations for each state by the end of this month.

https://www.activistpost.com/2023/06/usda-allocates-714m-for-broadband-in-19-states-despite-americans-having-already-paid-for-deployment-and-activation.html

Bipartisan Lawmakers Urge Biden to Send Longer-Range Weapons to Ukraine

The call was made in a letter led by Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO)

A group of nine bipartisan members of the House is urging President Biden to supply Ukraine with longer-range weapons and expedite the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks to the country.

In a letter led by Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), the lawmakers called on Biden to send Kyiv Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs), which have a range of 190 miles. The lawmakers said they were “encouraged” by Britain’s decision to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles that can hit targets up to 155 miles away.

“We urge you to transfer ATACMS to Ukraine from existing US stocks or approve transfers from our allies,” the letter reads. “These surface-to-surface missiles provide a long-range capability that will significantly improve Ukraine’s ability to target Russian troops and equipment in Ukrainian sovereign territory.”

In March, the Pentagon announced it was speeding up its delivery of Abrams tanks to Ukraine by refurbishing older models instead of manufacturing new ones. Under the new plan, Ukraine is expected to receive the US-made tanks toward the end of the year, but that’s not fast enough for Crow and the other representatives who signed the letter.

They called on Biden to speed up the delivery even more by using whatever authority is necessary. “We strongly urge you to do everything in your power to accelerate this timeline, whether that be through the Defense Production Act, expended contracts, or pulling from different stocks to provide Ukrainian troops the tactical equipment needed to mount their counteroffensive,” the letter says.

The lawmakers also called for the US to ship more air defenses to Ukraine and applauded Biden’s approval of F-16 deliveries. The letter noted the “overwhelming bipartisan support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia” as the majority of Congress still favors pouring more weapons into Ukraine despite the risk of escalation and provoking a direct war between NATO and Russia.

The other signatories to the letter are Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Jared Golden (D-ME), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Donald G. Davis (D-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and James R. Baird (R-IN).

https://news.antiwar.com/2023/06/12/bipartisan-lawmakers-urge-biden-to-send-longer-range-weapons-to-ukraine/