Johnson’s Guests Include A Doctor Who Resigned Because He Wasn’t Allowed to Give His Patients Horse Dewormer
A day after a march against life-saving vaccine requirements organized by radical right-wing groups, Sen. Ron Johnson is holding an event featuring some of the same people scheduled to speak at the “Defeat the Mandates” march. Johnson’s panel is designed to continue the spread of disinformation and vaccine hesitancy and includes a researcher banned from Twitter, multiple conspiracy theorists, and a doctor forced to resign because he wanted to give his patients horse dewormer.
Johnson’s actions over the past two years could only be explained if they were coming from someone actively trying to prolong the pandemic by causing vaccine hesitancy and sowing disinformation. If he wanted to help people in Wisconsin, he would be promoting vaccines and other life-saving measures designed to bring about an end to this pandemic. Instead, he invited discredited doctors and conspiracy theorists spouting dangerous nonsense to Washington to continue spreading their lies, which will only lead to more suffering.
Senator Ron Johnson Has Downplayed Vaccines In Favor Of Natural Immunity, Asking Why We Think We Science Could Make Something Better That Works Better Than God. The latest in a series of highly bizarre and scientifically dubious comments from Senator Johnson came earlier this month on the Vicki McKenna radio show. Senator Ron Johnson asked, “Why do we think that we can create something better than God in terms of combating disease? Why do we assume that the body’s natural immune system isn’t the marvel that it really is?” When the comments drew sharp criticism, Senator Johnson responded, saying “I won’t apologize for being in awe of creation or for the assumption that immunity from COVID infection might outperform immunity created in a lab. Unfortunately, the vaccines aren’t as safe or effective as we hoped.”
Senator Ron Johnson Has Refused To Get Vaccinated And Continues To Spread Disinformation. Senator Johnson has become notorious over the course of the pandemic for making outrageous, misleading, and blatantly false claims about COVID-19, including suggesting people use mouthwash to kill the virus and refusing to get vaccinated. He even went so far as to accuse public health experts of withholding information about the ‘dangers’ of COVID-19 vaccines from the American people. When asked how many people have died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson suggested the death count was above 3,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says this data does not establish cause and effect between coronavirus vaccinations and reported deaths. A range of experts on immunology have confirmed Johnson is misusing the data and exaggerating the known risks of getting the shot.
Panelists at Senator Johnson’s COVID-19 Misinformation Event:
Robert Malone
Robert Malone, an infectious disease researcher who has falsely claimed to be an inventor of the mRNA vaccines. Despite having received two doses of the Moderna vaccine, Malone has spread rampant disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, claiming vaccinated individuals were a danger to the unvaccinated and for every three lives the vaccines saved, they caused two deaths. These actions resulted in Malone being suspended from Twitter.
Peter McCullough
Peter McCullough, a known conspiracy theorist and Texas cardiologist, holds stances so extreme, he was fired from his position at Baylor University Medical Center and his former employer was granted a restraining order because they did not want to be associated with his dangerous, anti-science ideology. McCullough falsely claims that 15,937 Americans have died after taking the vaccine. The American Board of Internal Medicine has warned McCullough that he is at risk of losing his medical certification if he continues spreading misinformation.
Aaron Kheriaty
Aaron Kheriaty, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior, was fired from the University of California-Irvine School of Medicine for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Kheriaty falsely claimed that his ‘natural immunity’ should exempt him from the University’s vaccination policy.
Pierre Kory
Pierre Kory, a Wisconsin physician, has repeatedly spread disinformation about COVID-19 treatment. In December 2020, Kory referred to ivermectin as a “miracle drug”, claiming “If you take it, you will not get sick.” Despite Kory’s use of ivermectin as a preventative medicine, he contracted COVID-19 in August 2021. In response, Kory has only doubled down, now recommending the antiparasitic drug be used twice a week to prevent COVID-19 infection.
Paul Marik
Paul Marik, a Virginia physician, resigned as Professor of Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School after a judge denied his motion for a temporary injunction, which would have permitted him to use ivermectin on patients.