While most politicians put their head in the sand regarding possible adverse side effects to the COVID-19 vaccines, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson hopes to shine a light on them. The GOP senator held a press conference in Milwaukee yesterday where several who received the vaccine were able to tell their stories.
Despite discouragement from the CDC and other health officials, as well as a suspension from tech giant YouTube for allegedly running afoul of their ever-changing community guidelines regarding “medical misinformation,” Johnson still believes that the American people need to hear all the facts when deciding whether to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Johnson acknowledged that “over 300 million doses of the vaccine have been given in the U.S. and for … the vast majority of people, the vaccine’s been administered with little or no side effects.”
But, of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story of the experimental vaccines that are being foisted upon the world.
“Just because the vaccine is safe doesn’t mean that it’s one hundred percent safe,” Johnson pointed out.
The mainstream media, social-media giants and public-health officials appear to want to squelch any narrative that suggests that the vaccines might be causing adverse reactions and are anything but a global panacea.
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“What’s been happening over the last year-and-a-half is that people who are trying to tell the truth, people who are trying to get answers, are having a hard time [getting] their truths communicated without being vilified, without being ridiculed, without being censored,” Johnson said.
Former Green Bay Packer offensive lineman Ken Ruettgers and his wife, Cheryl, were largely responsible for getting Johnson on board with bringing the stories of those who have had adverse reactions out in the open. The two have started a website where those who have had adverse reactions can tell their stories.
Cheryl Ruettgers described her symptoms after receiving the Moderna vaccine in January.
“On January 14th I received the Moderna vaccine. The next morning I woke up with severely swollen lymph nodes in my neck,” Ruettgers said. “Three days later I woke up in the middle of the night with stroke-like symptoms.… My face and scalp were tingling, numb and burning with pain and my left arm and legs were also weak and numb.”
Another participant, Candace Hayden, described similarly terrifying symptoms. “We are asking to be seen, we’re asking to be heard, and we are asking to be believed. I was suffering from severe paresthesia and was partially paralyzed from the chest down,” said Hayden.
Participants of the press conference described shooting pains, partial paralysis, and general numbness from the vaccines.
“I lost control of my legs, and my bladder, along with my dignity,” said one participant, Brianne Dressen.
Stephanie de Garay’s 12-year-old daughter, Maddie, participated in clinical trials for the Pfizer vaccine offering last year and has struggled with health problems ever since.
“For the past five months, Maddie has been to the ER nine times … has been hospitalized three times, for a total of two months in the hospital. She was totally fine before this, she did the right thing trying to help everybody else and they’re not helping her,” said de Garay.
Despite those heart-wrenching stories about adverse effects from the COVID-19 vaccines, some local officials believe that Senator Johnson is being careless by allowing them to be heard.
“When Senator Johnson comes and talks about problems with the vaccination, it does nothing more than to discourage people, and that is irresponsible. It’s reckless and I wish he would stop,” said Bob Peterson, president of the Milwaukee School Board of Directors.
City of Milwaukee Health Commissioner Kirsten Johnson issued a statement, saying, “We should question the motives of an individual who refuses to be vaccinated hosting a press conference attempting to debunk the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.”
Johnson tested positive for COVID-19 last October and appears to be following Senator Rand Paul’s example. Paul believes that people who have already experienced the virus don’t need to be vaccinated. Johnson also said clearly in the press conference that he believed the vaccines were saving lives. He’s simply raising awareness of possible side effects.
“Nobody wants to admit that there may be some problems. I think the American public should be able to have informed consent when deciding whether or not to take an experimental vaccine one way or the other,” Johnson said.
The entire world has rushed vaccines into service due to the panic surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s a fact — not speculation. Normally, vaccines are clinically tested for six or seven years. These vaccines are, by definition, experimental. Why should there be such rancor and angst against anyone who is simply pointing out that obvious fact and suggesting that people experiencing adverse reactions need to be helped?
