Florida AG sues Pfizer over COVID vaccine safety claims

By Top Class Actions | October 6, 2026

Category: Legal News

(Photo Credit: Marco Lazzarini/Shutterstock)

Pfizer lawsuit overview:

Who: The Office of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Department of Legal Affairs filed a lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. and its CEO, Albert Bourla.
Why: The plaintiff claimed Pfizer misled Florida consumers about the safety of its COVID-19 vaccine and its ability to stop transmission.
Where: The Pfizer lawsuit was filed in Florida state court.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier filed a lawsuit against Pfizer, accusing the biopharmaceutical company of deceiving Florida consumers about the safety risks of its COVID-19 vaccine and whether the vaccine could stop the spread of the virus.

On Oct. 1, Uthmeier filed the lawsuit against Pfizer and its chairman and CEO, Albert Bourla. Uthmeier claims Pfizer ran a wide-ranging marketing campaign across Florida to drive consumer demand and spent more than $10 billion on advertising from 2020 to 2023.

Uthmeier alleges the campaign rested on two themes: that the vaccine posed no material safety risks and that mass vaccination was necessary to stop transmission. He claims Bourla said in a January 2023 interview that the company had seen “not a single [safety] signal” despite distributing billions of doses.

“Pfizer’s conduct misled Florida consumers when they were making some of the most sensitive health decisions of their lives,” the complaint says.

Uthmeier argues the alleged misrepresentations broke Florida law regardless of whether an individual consumer chose to receive or forgo the vaccine. He claims the conduct harmed consumers’ right to make an informed choice.

Disputing the allegations, a Pfizer spokesperson told Law360 that its statements about the vaccine were accurate and grounded in science and that Pfizer stands behind the product’s safety and efficacy.

The case follows a similar lawsuit filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which a trial court dismissed and which Texas appealed to the Fifth Circuit, Law360 reports.

Florida claims Pfizer never tested COVID vaccine for transmission

Uthmeier claims Pfizer knew of a safety signal for myocarditis and pericarditis, both forms of heart inflammation, particularly in males under 18. He also alleges Pfizer had reason to believe the vaccine presented a risk in the first trimester of pregnancy and had no data showing it was safe.

By Feb. 28, 2021, Pfizer’s internal database held 158,893 adverse events from 42,086 case reports, the lawsuit alleges. Uthmeier claims the data only came to light later through a court order in public records litigation.

The attorney general further alleges Pfizer never tested whether the COVID vaccine could prevent transmission, even as Bourla warned consumers that declining it would affect their loved ones. A second claim accuses Pfizer of profiteering by nearly quadrupling the price per dose in 2023.

The complaint asserts two claims under Florida’s consumer protection law. Uthmeier requests declaratory relief, a permanent injunction, civil penalties, disgorgement and attorneys’ fees and costs. The complaint does not include a jury demand.

Meanwhile, Pfizer is facing another lawsuit alleging it secretly tracked users’ activity on its website and shared their information with third-party advertising and analytics companies despite promising users they could opt out of tracking technologies.

What do you think of the allegations made in this Pfizer lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

Florida is represented by James Uthmeier, Ryan D. Newman, Jason Hilborn, Victoria A. Butler and Jennifer Hayes Pinder of the Office of the Attorney General of Florida and Michael C. Martinich-Sauter and Peter T. Reed of James Otis Law Group LLC.

The Pfizer lawsuit is Florida, et al. v. Pfizer Inc., et al., Filing No. 258276669, in the Circuit Court of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit in and for St. Lucie County, Florida.