Case
Teaching Notes
Abstract
This case examines the public relations and communications strategy of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which is expected to launch a Covid-19 vaccine after announcing successful trials in the fall of 2020. With a vaccine coming amid a highly fraught political moment in the United States, Pfizer’s messaging has attempted to distance the company—and its vaccine research—from the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed initiative, despite the company’s collaboration with the administration to help facilitate eventual distribution of the vaccine. The case asks students to assess Pfizer’s messaging and discuss the strategic benefits and pitfalls of the company’s effort to distance itself from the sitting president.
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