Milwaukee City Wire

U.S. Senator Ron Johnson has criticized the Department of Defense (DOD) for its lack of transparency regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines. In a letter to Secretary Lloyd Austin, Senator Johnson expressed his concern over the Army's recent letter to discharged service members who had refused to comply with the mandatory vaccination order. The letter allowed them to request a correction of their records and potentially apply to return to service.

Senator Johnson argued that allowing service members to request corrections or potential re-entry falls short of compensating them for their involuntary separation and apologizing for the disruption caused to their lives. He called on the DOD to be more transparent and forthcoming about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines.

The senator has previously raised concerns about data integrity issues in the Defense Medical Epidemiology Database (DMED) and has received reports from DOD whistleblowers indicating persistent adverse medical events associated with the vaccines. He accused the DOD of stonewalling his oversight work for over two years, denying service members and their families much-needed information about the health consequences of the vaccines.

Last month, the DOD admitted to Senator Johnson that there had been an increased incidence of myo/pericarditis, a rare condition, following COVID-19 vaccine administration. However, the DOD downplayed the significance of this by stating that establishing a causal relationship between vaccination and a clinical diagnosis can be challenging. They reported 80-90 cases of myo/pericarditis among service members following the administration of over 4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Senator Johnson expressed his frustration with the lack of transparency from the DOD on COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy. He highlighted that he had sent over 60 public letters to federal agencies, including the DOD, over the past two years, and the overall lack of transparency was appalling.

The senator is still awaiting complete answers to questions his staff sent to the DOD following a news article that reported new information from a DOD whistleblower on further increases in medical diagnoses in the DMED. He also reiterated his request for Tricare data, which he had made nearly a year ago, but the DOD has failed to provide any response.

Senator Johnson concluded his letter by stating that inquiries and requests for information concerning the health and well-being of service members should never be ignored, especially when they come from members of Congress and their staff. He requested a response from the DOD by December 15, 2023.

The full text of Senator Johnson's letter to Secretary Austin can be found on the Epoch Times website.

For additional details, please follow this link: https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/2023/12/sen-johnson-to-department-of-defense-sec-austin-the-overall-lack-of-transparency-from-you-and-your-colleagues-on-covid-19-vaccine-safety-and-efficacy-is-appalling