Thomas Massie continues advocating for US to leave NATO



Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky is advocating for the U.S. to sever ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

"Hawaii is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change. I say, let's get the other 49 states out," Massie tweeted when sharing a CNN article titled, "This US state is not covered by the NATO treaty. Some experts say that needs to change."

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah retweeted Massie and posed the question, "If NATO won't cover all of America, why should America cover all of NATO?"

— (@)

Massie has previously advocated for the U.S. to leave the NATO alliance.

"I would withdraw us from NATO," Massie said, according to a 2022 Washington Post article. "It's a Cold War relic. Our involvement should have ceased when the [Berlin] wall fell and the Soviet Union collapsed."

CNN reported that a State Department spokesperson suggested that while Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty does not extend to Hawaii, Article 4 should cover any scenario that could impact that state.

Article 5 reads, in part, "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area."

Article 4 states, "The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened."

Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin has said that NATO is critical to U.S. security.

"NATO is the strongest military alliance in history, and it is crucial for America's continued security," Austin claimed in a statement. "A secure America is impossible without a strong NATO."

— (@)

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

National Cathedral swaps out Civil War-themed stained glass for civil rights-themed windows



For nearly 65 years, the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., had four Civil War-themed stained glass windows featuring Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. They were allegedly installed in hopes of ameliorating postwar tensions between North and South.

On Saturday, the nation's second-largest cathedral unveiled its civil rights-themed replacement windows, featuring faceless black protesters. They were ostensibly installed as a symbolic nod to ameliorating racial tensions.

The National Cathedral, official seat of the Episcopal Church, indicated in a statement that its four new windows "signify a new chapter in the Cathedral's historic legacy of art and architecture."

What's the background?

The neo-Gothic cathedral's original 4'x6' windows were donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, designed by Boston artist Wilbur H. Burnham, and installed in 1953. They depicted Jackson and Lee as pious Christians at various stages in their military and spiritual lives.

The engraved stone below the Jackson window noted that he "walked humbly before his creator," reported the Washington Post.

The stone below Lee's window stated that the prominent Episcopalian was "a Christian soldier without fear and without reproach."

The windows were reportedly installed to "foster reconciliation between parts of the nation that had been divided by the Civil War," according to the cathedral's former dean, Gary Hall.

NPR indicated that around 2015, the idea of removing Confederate symbols from the building was raised after the massacre of black Christians at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 2016, Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas, a member of the five-person task force assembled to consider the status of the windows, intimated their historical and provocative nature was not altogether cause for iconoclasm, but a talking point.

"Instead of simply taking the windows down and going on with business as usual, the Cathedral recognizes that, for now, they provide an opportunity for us to begin to write a new narrative on race and racial justice at the Cathedral and perhaps for our nation," said Douglas.

The subsequent death of a counter-protester at the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, expedited the removal of the windows.

At the time of their removal, Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean at the cathedral, said, "Confederate monuments, windows like ours — many of them have become symbols of racism and white supremacy, and they’ve become quite painful for brothers and sisters of this nation," reported the New York Times.

On Saturday, Hollerith said, "Simply put, these windows were offensive, and they were a barrier to the ministry of this cathedral, and they were antithetical to our call to be a House of Prayer for All People. They told a false narrative, extolling two individuals who fought to keep the institution of slavery alive in this country."

New windows

Smithsonian magazine reported that the bright new images, entitled "Now and Forever," were born of a collaboration between Kerry James Marshall and stained-glass fabricator Andrew Goldkuhle.

They depict black protesters holding signs that read "fairness," "not," "no," and "no foul play."

— (@)

Kerry James Marshall, a prolific race-focused artist from Birmingham, Alabama, designed the new windows for a symbolic fee of $18.65.

Marshall told the Washington Post in 2021 that this figure is significant because, "of course, 1865 is the end of the Civil War."

The windows will soon be accompanied by a poem by Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander, whose organization helped fund the windows' replacement. The poem, which will be engraved below the windows in the coming months, notes, "May this portal be where the light comes in."

Bible passages were read, speeches were given, and gospel music was played at the Saturday dedication. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reportedly also marked the occasion by reading excerpts from Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail."

Marshall indicated that the unveiling highlighted "one instance where a change of symbolism is meant to repair a breach of America’s creation promise of liberty and justice for all, and to reinforce those ideals and aspirations embodied in the Cathedral’s structure and its mission to remind us that we can be better, and do better, than we did yesterday, today."

"I am deeply humbled, incredibly grateful, for the opportunity and hope that the things the windows propose continue to be a catalyst for the kind of transformation that the Cathedral stands for, what this nation stands for … and what I hope we all will embody and stand for and bring forward ourselves," added Marshall.

The Art Newspaper reported that the ultimate fate of the original windows, presently being stored and conserved at the cathedral, has not yet been decided.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Twitter assisted in government psyop campaigns, new 'Twitter Files' reveal



Twitter employees assisted the Pentagon with covert psychological operations by helping push propaganda through a network of Twitter accounts in different languages, as revealed by investigative journalist Lee Fang.

"How Twitter Quietly Aided the Pentagon’s Covert Online PsyOp Campaign," Fang writes, revealing documents obtained from Twitter's internal communications dubbed the "Twitter Files."

The files reveal that in 2017, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) sent Twitter a list of 52 Arab language accounts that the military used to "amplify certain messages." A government official asked for priority service for six of the accounts, verification for one, and special "whitelist" abilities for another.

"Our [special operations command] guys mentioned they'd love to be able to come and meet up for a face-to-face," the email also says.

The same day, Twitter applied a special "whitelist" tag that acts similarly to a verification without a blue checkmark, meaning it provides exemption from spam and abuse flagging and is more likely be to seen or trend.

The Arab-language accounts are fairly cut and dried as far as messaging goes. They promoted U.S. messaging in the Middle East on topics such as the Yemen conflict, anti-Iranian messages, and how "accurate" drone strikes have been, claiming to kill only the intended terrorist target.

In May 2020, a Twitter employee seemingly emailed the Department of Justice proactively, providing a list of accounts Twitter had discovered along with a list that had been provided. The detected accounts tweeted in Russian and Arabic similarly to the aforementioned, yet were not disclosed to Twitter as having government ties.

Many of these accounts continued operations well into May 2022, according to Fang, meaning Twitter allowed their accounts to operate under shadowy pretenses for at least two years in some cases.

In August 2022, a Stanford Internet Observatory report discovered several of these accounts, finding that a network across social media platforms was using "deepfake" images and memes against U.S. foreign adversaries to promote pro-American messages.

"An interconnected web of accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and five other social media platforms [have] used deceptive tactics to promote pro-Western narratives in the Middle East and Central Asia," the report reads.

"The platforms’ datasets appear to cover a series of covert campaigns over a period of almost five years rather than one homogeneous operation. These campaigns consistently advanced narratives promoting the interests of the United States and its allies while opposing countries including Russia, China, and Iran," it concluded.

According to Fang, "Twitter was cast as an unbiased hero for removing 'a network of fake user accounts promoting pro-Western policy positions,'" despite the company's obvious assistance in allowing these accounts to operate against their terms of service.

Twitter officials even praised each other when reports came out on the subject and were clearly pleased that they were not exposed for their government cooperation.

\u201c1. TWITTER FILES PART 8\n\n*How Twitter Quietly Aided the Pentagon\u2019s Covert Online PsyOp Campaign*\n\nDespite promises to shut down covert state-run propaganda networks, Twitter docs show that the social media giant directly assisted the U.S. military\u2019s influence operations.\u201d
— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1671566520


\u201c4. In 2017, a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) official sent Twitter a list of 52 Arab language accounts \u201cwe use to amplify certain messages.\u201d The official asked for priority service for six accounts, verification for one & \u201cwhitelist\u201d abilities for the others.\u201d
— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1671566520


\u201c6. The CENTCOM accounts on the list tweeted frequently about U.S. military priorities in the Middle East, including promoting anti-Iran messages, promotion of the Saudi Arabia-U.S. backed war in Yemen, and \u201caccurate\u201d U.S. drone strikes that claimed to only hit terrorists.\u201d
— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1671566520


\u201c19. Twitter\u2019s comms team was closely in touch with reporters, working to minimize Twitter\u2019s role. When the WashPost reported on the scandal, Twitter officials congratulated each other because the story didn\u2019t mention any Twitter employees & focused largely on the Pentagon.\u201d
— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang) 1671567714

Kathy Hochul self-sabotages campaign with telling response when GOP opponent confronts her about crime



New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) raised eyebrows on Tuesday when she bizarrely questioned Republican Lee Zeldin's emphasis on combatting crime, a key issue in the New York governor's race.

What happened?

During Tuesday's New York gubernatorial debate, Zeldin reiterated his pledge to declare a "crime emergency" if elected governor.

"The first day that I'm in office, I'm going to declare a crime emergency and suspend cashless bail and these other pro-crime laws," Zeldin said. "My opponent thinks that right now there’s a polio emergency going on but there’s not a crime emergency — different priorities than I’m hearing from people right now.

"Halfway through the debate, she still hasn’t talked about locking up anyone committing any crimes," he added.

Hochul responded that crimes have consequences in New York — but then she dropped an unforgettable line.

"I don't know why that's so important to you," she said of crime issues. "All I know is that we can do more."

\u201cKathy Hochul's response to me tonight when I spoke about how we need to lock up criminals:\n\n"I don\u2019t know why that's so important to you"?\n\nNYers are getting beaten, slashed, stabbed, and pushed in front of subway cars every day, yet @KathyHochul still can't address crime in NY.\u201d
— Lee Zeldin (@Lee Zeldin) 1666750243

Earlier in the debate, Zeldin highlighted how Hochul is not offering an actual plan to combat crime in the Empire State. Instead, she is only focusing on limiting Second Amendment rights.

"Kathy Hochul believes that the only crimes being committed are crimes with guns," Zeldin said. "You have people who are afraid to be pushed in front of oncoming subway cars, they’re being stabbed, beaten to death on the street with hammers.

"Talk to the Asian-American community and how it’s impacted them with the loss of lives, Jewish people targeted with raw, violent anti-Semitism on our streets — it just happened yet again," he continued. "We need to be talking about all of these other crimes, but instead, Kathy Hochul is busy patting herself on the back, job well done. No, actually."

Hochul, Zeldin spar over crime, Trump in debate for New York governor www.youtube.com

What about crime in NY?

Downplaying the importance of solving crime problems will undoubtedly hurt Hochul's campaign.

After all, the most recent poll from Quinnipiac found that crime is the most important issue to New York voters, even overshadowing inflation and economic woes.

Lee Zeldin predicts his attacker would benefit from New York's laws — and it comes true within just hours



Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for the New York gubernatorial race, predicted early Friday morning that his attacker would benefit from New York's criminal laws.

Just hours after the attack, Zeldin's prediction came true.

What did Zeldin predict?

While Zeldin was speaking at a campaign event near Rochester, a man jumped on stage and attempted to stab the Republican lawmaker. The attacker allegedly told Zeldin, "You're done."

Fortunately, the man was subdued before he could harm Zeldin. The man was taken into custody by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

After the incident, Zeldin predicted his attacker would quickly be released from jail.

"His words as he tried to stab me a few hours ago were 'you’re done', but several attendees, including @EspositoforNY, quickly jumped into action & tackled the guy. Law enforcement was on the scene within minutes," Zeldin said. "The attacker will likely be instantly released under NY’s laws."

\u201cHis words as he tried to stab me a few hours ago were \u201cyou\u2019re done\u201d, but several attendees, including @EspositoforNY, quickly jumped into action & tackled the guy. \n\nLaw enforcement was on the scene within minutes. \n\nThe attacker will likely be instantly released under NY\u2019s laws.\u201d
— Lee Zeldin (@Lee Zeldin) 1658467814

What happened with the attacker?

The attacker, whom police identified as 43-year-old David G. Jakubonis, was arraigned in court and released on his own recognizance just hours after the attack, police confirmed.

Jakubonis was charged with second-degree attempted assault, a felony.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement:

On July 21, 2022 at approximately 8:00 p.m., Representative Lee Zeldin wason stage giving a campaign speech at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8495 at 300 Macedon Center Road,in the Town of Perinton. A male from the crowd climbed up on the stage and approached Zeldin. The malehad a weapon in his hand, swung it towards Zeldin’s neck, and told him, “You’re done.” Members of theaudience and Rep. Zeldin’s campaign restrained the male until deputies arrived and took him into custody.There were no injuries.

According to the New York Times, the Empire State is the only state in the U.S. "without a so-called dangerousness standard."

"In New York, bail is imposed solely to ensure that people return to court; judges are not supposed to set high bail for defendants who they think might be a public safety risk," the newspaper explained.

Watch: Rep. Lee Zeldin Attacked By Man At New York Campaign Event www.youtube.com

Critics rip former Biden health adviser, MSNBC for peddling lie that unvaccinated kids are likely to get 'serious' COVID: 'Dangerous misinformation'



Critics are calling out a former COVID policy adviser to President Joe Biden after he recently claimed on national TV that children are "likely" to get a "serious" case of COVID-19 if they do not get vaccinated against the virus.

What did he say?

Dr. Zeke Emanuel, who formerly served in the Obama administration and as a member of Biden's coronavirus advisory board, made the fallacious claim during an interview with MSNBC reporter Kristen Welker on Wednesday.

The two were discussing vaccine efficacy in children amid the rise of the Omicron variant, when he said, "With the Omicron variant, kids are either going to get the vaccine or they're likely to get a serious condition of Omicron."

"I am confused about parents’ attitude. Five and above, seems like it's a no-brainer," he added. "Two to five, I understand some hesitancy. Two and under with the small dose, I think probably a very good idea."

"Parents have to be more willing" to get their children vaccinated, Emanuel argued.

MSNBC followed up the interview by promoting Emanuel's warning on Twitter, despite his claim being obviously dubious.

Numerous scientific studies since the start of the pandemic have shown that children are extremely unlikely to present even mild symptoms as a result of the virus, much less come down with a severe case of COVID-19.

Furthermore, Reuters reported last month that a recent study showed Omicron is even less dangerous for children than previous variants of the pathogen.

What was the reaction?

Critics were quick to call out Emanuel and MSNBC for peddling misinformation about the pandemic, many noting that they reported the post to Twitter for removal.

"Report this dangerous misinformation," columnist Phil Kerpen tweeted.

Report this dangerous misinformation.https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Phil Kerpen (@Phil Kerpen) 1643937935

"This is a lie," Townhall senior editor Matt Vespa added.

This is a liehttps://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Matt Vespa (@Matt Vespa) 1643942360

Reason editor at large Matt Welch added, "This statement is not remotely true."

This statement is not remotely true.https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Matt Welch (@Matt Welch) 1643939630

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) said, "This is garbage @MSNBC. Totally, 100%, indisputably untrue COVID misinformation."

This is garbage @MSNBC. Totally, 100%, indisputably untrue COVID misinformation.https://twitter.com/MSNBC/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Lee Zeldin (@Lee Zeldin) 1643944160

"There is zero evidence that unvaccinated kids as young as 5 are 'likely to get a serious condition of omicron.' Zero," The Hill columnist Joe Concha argued.

There is zero evidence that unvaccinated kids as young as 5 are \u201clikely to get a serious condition of omicron.\u201d Zero.https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Joe Concha (@Joe Concha) 1643957299

New York Assemblyman Jarrett Gandolfo called Emanuel's claim "demonstrably false" and "straight up fearmongering."

This is demonstrably false. Straight up fearmongering.https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Jarett Gandolfo (@Jarett Gandolfo) 1643940285

WEX magazine managing editor Jay Caruso noted the statement as an example of how "platforms are much more lenient with COVID/vaccine hysteria content than they are with COVID/vaccine skeptical content."

This is a good example of an issue @JonathanTurley raised several weeks ago. Platforms are much more lenient with COVID/vaccine hysteria content than they are with COVID/vaccine skeptical content.https://twitter.com/msnbc/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Jay Caruso (@Jay Caruso) 1643974544

Others contrasted Big Tech's silence over Emanuel's and MSNBC's claims to the loud criticism being incessantly launched against Spotify podcaster Joe Rogan because of his opinions on COVID-19 treatments.

"This kind of stuff only proves the whole Spotify thing has nothing to do with misinformation and everything to do with power," Bridget Phetasy tweeted.

This kind of stuff only proves the whole Spotify thing has nothing to do with misinformation and everything to do with power.
— Bridget Phetasy (@Bridget Phetasy) 1643939939

Washington Examiner contributor Brad Polumbo remarked, "Lol but Joe Rogan spreads COVID 'misinformation.''"

Lol but Joe Rogan spreads COVID \u201cmisinformation\u201dhttps://twitter.com/msnbc/status/1489400069203939335\u00a0\u2026
— Brad Polumbo \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u26bd\ufe0f \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Brad Polumbo \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\u26bd\ufe0f \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1643946434

'This is like Alex Jones territory': Reporter DEMANDS evidence of stunning State Dept. claims, leaves spokesman stammering



Associated Press reporter Mike Lee was not about to let State Department spokesman Ned Price get away without providing evidence to back claims that Russia plans to film and broadcast fake videos to justify invading Ukraine.

At a media briefing Thursday, Price told reporters that the Biden administration suspects Russia is planning to produce and broadcast "a video with graphic scenes of false explosions - depicting corpses, crisis actors pretending to be mourners, and images of destroyed locations or military equipment - entirely fabricated by Russian intelligence" to justify a further invasion of Ukraine.

"Well, it's an action that you say that they have taken, but you have shown no evidence to confirm that," Lee said to Price. "And I'm going to get to the next question here, which is, what is the evidence that — I mean, this is like, crisis actors? Really? This is like Alex Jones territory you're getting into now. What evidence do you have to support the idea that there is some propaganda film in the making?"

Price and Lee then engage in a fruitless, albeit entertaining, back-and-forth in which Lee repeatedly asks for evidence to support these allegations, and Price repeatedly claims that the allegations themselves are all the evidence he needs.

The Hill's post of the exchange on Twitter has been retweeted nearly 10,000 times:


Reporter: \u201cIt\u2019s an action that you say they have taken, but you have shown no evidence to confirm that. [...] This is like - crisis actors? Really? This is like Alex Jones territory you\u2019re getting into now.\u201d\n\nMust-watch exchange between @APDiploWriter Matt Lee and @StateDeptSpox.pic.twitter.com/RPIPb2zwf5
— The Hill (@The Hill) 1643920348

Watch the full exchange below:


NYC is funding vending machines that will dispense clean syringes for those 'disproportionately burdened' by overdoses



New York City will address the drug overdose crisis by installing public vending machines that will dispense clean hypodermic needles for those "disproportionately burdened" by overdoses.

The project is expected to cost taxpayers $730,000.

Ten public vending machines will be installed in select locations in New York City, and they will be stocked with "harm reduction and wellness supplies" that include clean syringes and the anti-overdose drug naloxone.

In a request for proposals by the non-profit organization installing the vending machines, the group blamed systemic racism and white privilege for unequal access to "resources and opportunities afforded to White people."

Experts say the United States is in the middle of a worsening drug overdose crisis. In a span of 12 months, ending in April 2021, fentanyl overdose became the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45, with more than 40,000 deaths compared to 22,000 car accident deaths, 21,000 suicide deaths, and 21,000 deaths from COVID-19.

“We are in the worst overdose crisis we’ve ever been in in the United States,” said Harm Reduction Action Center executive director Lisa Raville. “In a magical world there would be no drugs, but we live here.”

New York City health officials reported over 2,000 overdose deaths in the 2021 year alone.

Not everyone is thrilled about these harm mitigation efforts. Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York mocked the program in a tweet from his social media account.

"It's being reported that NYC’s latest answer to the drug abuse epidemic is to dispense needles from vending machines like candy. That’s on top of new locations around NYC to shoot up," tweeted Zeldin.

It's being reported that NYC\u2019s latest answer to the drug abuse epidemic is to dispense needles from vending machines like candy. That\u2019s on top of new locations around NYC to shoot up. People should be encouraged to get OFF drugs, not having govt load them up w/ tools to use more.
— Lee Zeldin (@Lee Zeldin) 1641245129

"People should be encouraged to get OFF drugs, not having govt load them up w/ tools to use more," he added.

Outraged neighbors in one Brooklyn neighborhood counted more than 200 discarded hypodermic needles found in one garbage can near a public school, according to a WPIX-TV report.

One angry resident told WPIX that drug addicts openly inject themselves in full view of the schoolchildren walking to the school in the morning.

Here's more about the needle crisis in New York City:

Heroin epidemic layers Bronx neighborhood riddled with needleswww.youtube.com

Tennessee Billboards Encourage People To Finally ‘Ditch The Mask’

'I hope this encourages people that are tired of complying with arbitrary rules that there are other people like them,' said Gary Humble. 'If we all just stop doing this tomorrow, it ends.'

Pfizer execs: We see a ‘significant opportunity’ to hike COVID-19 vaccine prices



Pfizer executives said recently that there could be a "significant opportunity" to hike prices of the company's Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, according to an Insider report early Tuesday.

What are the details?

During last week's Barclays Global Healthcare Conference, Pfizer CFO Frank D'Amelio and Senior VP of Investor Relations Chuck Triano told company investors that there could be a "significant opportunity" to increase vaccine prices if the COVID-19 pandemic turns endemic, meaning that the virus is always with the world — not unlike influenza.

D'Amelio and Triano added that people may need a third vaccine to deal with emerging coronavirus variants, or may also require a third dose as a booster.

During the conference, D'Amelio said, "If you look at how current demand and current pricing is being driven, it's clearly not being driven by what I'll call normal market conditions or normal market forces. ... [I]t's been driven by the pandemic state we've been in, and the needs of governments to secure doses from various vaccine suppliers."

D'Amelio pointed out that when "normal market conditions" resume, there could be a chance for the company to capitalize on the vaccines from a "demand" and "pricing perspective."

"We believe it's becoming increasingly likely that an annual revaccination is going to take place," he added.

You can listen to the remarks in the video below.

"But we think as this shifts from pandemic to endemic, we think there's an opportunity here for us." https://t.co/Fj7d6up9mW
— Lee Fang (@Lee Fang)1615848816.0

A warning about rising prices

In February, Forbes reporter John LaMattina warned of rising COVID-19 vaccine prices.

"[P]rice gouging for the vaccines hasn't occurred," LaMattina wrote. "The most expensive of the vaccines has been Pfizer's, and that two-dose regimen is priced at $39. To put that into perspective the price for the quadrivalent flu shot in 2020 ranged from $35-$41 at places like Walgreen's, and CVS, with 'senior doses' (for those over 65) running close to $70. Given the destructive effects that COVID-19 has had on the economy, the new vaccines are a bargain. More importantly, they save lives."

He noted, however, that "goodwill" toward biopharmaceutical companies may soon well "evaporate" as other recent remarks made by D'Amelio implies that the company will "get more on price" once the pandemic wanes.

"One analyst speculated that Pfizer could be targeting a price 3-4 times higher — as much as $156/treatment," LaMattina added. "A sudden, dramatic increase in the cost of the vaccine will certainly damage the industry's image — almost like the industry would be performing a 'bait and switch' operation."

"Such a move would result in politicians calling industry executives to testify on Capitol Hill about how the company can justify such increases at the expense of the American public. All the accrued goodwill will be lost," he observed.

"Certainly, Pfizer should be able to raise the price of its COVID-19 vaccine — perhaps to the level of the high end flu vaccine prices," he concluded. "It should be noted that despite the billions in revenue that Pfizer will be generating from its vaccine, its stock price has been stagnant. It should be allowed to benefit for its unbelievable efforts. But Pfizer and the rest of the industry has dramatically changed the way it is viewed by the public. Let's not go back to getting bashed about drug prices, especially with respect to Covid-19 vaccines."