ICYMI: Johnson’s Latest “Ridiculous, Dangerous” Anti-Vaccine Misinformation Fact Checked “Entirely False”

“Noted vaccine skeptic” Ron Johnson is once again facing scrutiny for amplifying dangerous “anti-vaccine misinformation.” The vulnerable incumbent appeared on a right-wing radio show where he questioned vaccination efforts, implied that vaccines were “particularly dangerous” for those who had already had Covid-19, and even “suggested there have been thousands of deaths connected to Covid-19 vaccinations.” CNN fact checkers reviewed Johnson’s dangerous comments and found them “entirely false.”  

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

CNN: Fact-checking Sen. Ron Johnson’s anti-vaccine misinformation
By Holmes Lybrand and Tara Subramaniam
May 10, 2021

Key Points:

• Under the guise of “just asking the questions,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin spread anti-vaccine misinformation on a right-wing radio show Thursday, questioning why efforts were being made to vaccinate the general US population, especially young people and those who had previously been infected with Covid-19.

• In Thursday’s interview with conservative radio host Vicki McKenna, Johnson suggested there have been thousands of deaths connected to Covid-19 vaccinations and that receiving a vaccine could be particularly dangerous for those who had previously been infected.

• To defend his position and call into question the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, Johnson cited numbers from the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which allows anyone to submit a report. Johnson said that according to the system, “we’re over 3000 deaths after within 30 days of taking the vaccine,” suggesting these deaths were tied to Covid-19 vaccines.

• Facts First: Johnson’s insinuation that these reported deaths are tied to Covid-19 vaccines is entirely false. VAERS is not an official, vetted report of vaccine-related incidents. Anyone can submit a report and, as the system’s website notes, “VAERS is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem” and “the reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable.”

• The Wisconsin Republican also claimed there’s a risk of death if individuals who previously tested positive for Covid-19 receive a vaccine.

• “I’m talking to doctors who have, since day one, been concerned about vaccinating people who’ve already had Covid, because you die, not of Covid, you die of the immune system overreaction to Covid,” Johnson said. “So there’s a concern there.”

• Facts First: This is wrong. The vaccines currently being administered in the US are considered safe and recommended even for individuals who were previously infected with Covid-19.

Johnson’s latest “irresponsible nonsense” is part of a pattern of “ridiculous, dangerous rhetoric” from “the Republican Party’s foremost amplifier of conspiracy theories and disinformation.” In past couple of months alone, Johnson has:

• Repeatedly amplified baseless lies about the 2020 presidential election results
• Spread lies and downplayed the deadly assault on the Capitol 
• Espoused ‘racist’ and ‘unacceptable’ theories about the January 6th insurrectionists
• Touted “discredited” COVID-19 treatments
• Embraced dangerous vaccine skepticism that led to him being called out by a Republican colleague
• Blew off FBI concerns about Russian disinformation

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