Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are reviewing a claim brought by British drugmaker GSK that Pfizer delayed announcing the “success” of its COVID-19 vaccine in 2020 until after the presidential election, according to sources familiar with the matter. The allegation, if substantiated, could lend credibility to President Trump’s long-standing assertion that Pfizer withheld positive trial results that could have bolstered his handling of the pandemic.
The U.S. attorney’s office has already interviewed at least two individuals regarding the claim, including a GSK executive who documented a conversation with the former Pfizer scientist at the center of the allegation. That scientist, Phil Dormitzer, led Pfizer’s viral vaccine research before joining GSK in 2021. Dormitzer, who has since left GSK, maintains that Pfizer acted swiftly to approve the vaccine and denies ever telling GSK colleagues otherwise.
Prosecutors are seeking further details about what Dormitzer allegedly told GSK executives in late 2024 concerning Pfizer’s actions in 2020. While it remains unclear what legal violations may be under scrutiny, the inquiry coincides with the Justice Department’s broader investigations into Trump’s detractors, including a new probe into the 2020 election.
Trump has long criticized Pfizer’s timing, growing furious when the company announced its vaccine results just days after the 2020 election. Over the past year, Pfizer executives, including CEO Albert Bourla, have attempted to build ties with Trump, attending fundraising events and hosting a C-suite retreat at Mar-a-Lago following the 2024 election. Trump has personally questioned Bourla on whether the vaccine was deliberately delayed, a claim Bourla has denied.
During development, Pfizer’s vaccine review process was overseen by an independent data-safety monitoring committee. The company filmed and broadcast the moment executives learned of the trial’s success on November 8, two days after Joe Biden was declared the “winner” of the 2020 election. Shortly after midnight on November 10, Trump posted on social media: “As I have long said, @Pfizer and the others would only announce a Vaccine after the Election, because they didn’t have the courage to do it before.”
GSK and Pfizer remain fierce competitors in the pharmaceutical industry, vying for billions in annual drug and vaccine sales.
