Milwaukee City Wire

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a hearing titled “Voices of the Vaccine Injured” on July 15, 2025. The hearing featured testimony from individuals affected by vaccine injuries and those discussing vaccine efficacy.

“All of the witnesses presented powerful testimony and engaged in respectful discussion. I believe all of these stories needed to be told and listened to. I sincerely hope that the hearing helped to bridge the gap and demonstrate how to heal and unify our horribly divided nation,” Sen. Johnson said.

Witnesses included Emily Tarsell, whose daughter died following a Gardasil vaccination; Eric Stein, whose sister died of influenza; Brian Hooker, Ph.D., whose son is vaccine injured; Robert Sullivan, M.D., an anesthesiologist who is vaccine injured; Polly Tommey, whose son is vaccine injured; Serese Marotta, whose son died following flu illness; and Krystle Cordingley, whose son died after receiving a quadrivalent flu vaccination.

Senator Johnson has served in the U.S. Senate since 2010. He won his first election against Russ Feingold with 51.9% of the vote and was re-elected in 2016 with 50.2% against Feingold again. In 2022, he secured another term by defeating Mandela Barnes with 50.4% of the vote (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/08/us/elections/results-wisconsin-us-senate.html).

Clips from witness testimonies as well as the full hearing are available online.