Sinclair host floats conspiracy theory about Pfizer vaccine news, suggests congressional investigation
Written by Zachary Pleat
Published
With his pal President Donald Trump having lost the election, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Eric Bolling is turning his ire on pharmaceutical giant Pfizer for announcing after the election that its coronavirus vaccine has 90% effectiveness. Bolling has suggested both criminal and congressional investigations into Pfizer based on the conspiracy theory that the timing was political.
On November 9, Pfizer announced that an early analysis of its vaccine showed it to be at least 90% effective at preventing COVID-19 cases. The results have not yet been peer reviewed or published in a medical journal, but so far they are better than the 60-70% efficacy predicted by researchers, according to Stat News. There are some logistical hurdles to overcome for widespread distribution of Pfizer’s vaccine, which needs to be stored at extremely low temperatures. Pfizer’s head of vaccine development, Dr. Karin Janson, told The New York Times that “she learned of the results from the outside panel of experts shortly after 1 p.m. on Sunday, and that the timing was not influenced by the election.”
But Bolling suggested the timing of the news pointed to a criminal conspiracy by Pfizer to benefit President-elect Joe Biden:
This was also the framing Bolling employed in an interview with Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX) on his program America This Week, which aired on at least 42 Sinclair-owned or -operated stations in at least 35 states and Washington, D.C. The interview has also been available to stream on dozens of Sinclair station websites since the evening of November 12. During the interview, Bolling suggested Congress investigate the timing of the announcement:
Citation From the November 16, 2020, edition of Sinclair Broadcast Group's America This Week on WBFF
ERIC BOLLING (SINCLAIR SENIOR POLITICAL ANCHOR): There have been questions over the timing of Pfizer’s vaccine announcement and whether the election or the mainstream media calling the race for Joe Biden played a role. Joining me now to discuss is Texas Congressman Brian Babin. Congressman, thank you for joining us -- doctor, as well. Sir, talk to us a little bit about that. You know, Operation Warp Speed has pushed a lot of the trials forward. I just found it odd -- and I think Ted Cruz even tweeted about it -- I found it odd 48 hours after the election Pfizer says that they've got this vaccine with 90% efficacy. Any shenanigans going on there?
REP. BRIAN BABIN (R-TX): Sure is weird that they would wait until after the election to make that announcement.
…
BOLLING: Congressman, if -- how do you go from here with this vaccine, because I think that it would be very, very -- listen, do you call for a House investigation into the timing of all that went down? How does it work?
…
BOLLING: You know, and one has to speculate. What happens if that announcement was 48 hours prior to the election rather [than] 48 hours after the election. I mean, it’s clear that the way that Operation Warp Speed worked, we’re allowing companies to progress forward with trials at a much faster pace through the FDA, pushing the FDA to open that door for them. Boy, you certainly would think President Trump would get a lot of that credit going into a voting booth.
Sinclair isn’t the only right-wing propaganda outlet to air this conspiracy theory. On November 9, Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt and Fox Business host Charles Payne complained about the “curious” timing of Pfizer’s announcement.