Two public commenters urge Mono County to stop COVID-19 vaccine administration; board received comments

During the public comment period at the May 13, 2025, Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting, two members of the public urged the county to stop administering COVID‑19 vaccines and asked the county public health officer to investigate lot‑level reports from VAERS.

Ronald F. Owens Jr. identified himself as having served as a public information officer at the California Department of Public Health for more than 14 years. Owens said he had provided VAERS‑derived information to public‑health management and to hundreds of county boards across California and asserted that thousands of people have been injured and that 749 Californians have died “from the COVID‑nineteen vaccines,” a figure he attributed to his VAERS analyses. He said he had emailed Mono County on July 29, 2024, and again in December with updates and asked the county to stop promoting and administering the vaccines.

Julie Threet, calling in from Butte County, described herself as a vaccine‑injured person and said she had worked at Butte County Public Health mass‑vaccination clinics in 2021 and as a patient advocate at Enloe Medical Center. Threet said she filed a VAERS report and represents VAERSAWARE.com; she asked the county public health department to check batch/lot toxicity and to provide information about how to file VAERS reports. She also provided a list of external websites and organizations she said support her claims.

Board members did not take action in response to the public comments. The record reflects the commenters’ assertions and affiliations as presented during public comment; the county did not verify the factual claims during the meeting. No county public‑health action or directive was recorded on the item.