COVID Policy Crossroads: House Seeks Origins Transparency as Agencies Rebuke Florida and Paxlovid Nears Full Approval

Overview

• The House voted unanimously to declassify U.S. intelligence on the pandemic’s origins, yet assessments still do not resolve lab-leak versus animal-spillover questions.
• CDC and FDA officials formally warned Florida’s surgeon general that his statements on COVID-19 risks are harmful to the public.
• An FDA advisory panel backed Pfizer’s antiviral Paxlovid for high-risk adults, positioning the treatment for possible full approval.
• Two Idaho lawmakers introduced a bill to criminalize administering COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, a proposal that remains in early legislative stages.
• People reporting serious vaccine injuries say compensation has been slow, with cases like Steve Wenger’s paralysis after a Johnson & Johnson shot still awaiting resolution.