Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Witnesses tell Senate panel they and patients suffered vaccine injuries, long COVID and pregnancy harms
Loading...
Summary
A group of doctors and claimants told the Senate subcommittee they have treated or represent thousands of patients with post‑vaccine and post‑COVID conditions, and one witness said published autopsies and case reports link deaths to vaccine myocarditis.
WASHINGTON — Doctors and patient representatives who testified before the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations described clinical cases and personal experiences they said show serious adverse events following COVID‑19 vaccination and ongoing care gaps for injured patients.
Dr. Peter McCullough, introduced to the committee as a cardiologist and internist, said he had examined "thousands of patients with this problem" and cited peer‑reviewed case reports, including autopsy reports. "It's the vaccine," he said in testimony summarizing several case reports in which he and others concluded vaccination preceded fatal myocarditis in individual patients.
Dr. Jordan Vaughn, a clinical researcher who described treating thousands of long COVID and vaccine‑injured patients in Alabama, said the spike protein produced after mRNA injections can trigger inflammation and blood‑clotting abnormalities in some patients. "These are not abstract theories. They're the lived realities of my patients in Alabama and beyond," Vaughn told the panel.
Obstetrician‑gynecologist Dr. James Thorpe told senators he and his team published peer‑reviewed research he said showed multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with COVID‑19 vaccination; he criticized a 2021 New England Journal of Medicine report and said that, in his view, the raw data suggested higher miscarriage rates in certain subgroups. Dr. Thorpe urged the government to stop promotional campaigns for mRNA vaccines in pregnancy pending further review.
Several witnesses, including Dr. Joel Walskog, who said he developed transverse myelitis after a Moderna dose and is co‑chair of the advocacy group REACT‑19, described obstacles to compensation and care. Walskog and REACT‑19 told senators they had high rejection rates under the federal Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) and difficulty obtaining responses from VAERS and other federal systems.
The witnesses' accounts were sharply contested by senators and others on the dais. Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal repeatedly emphasized evidence that vaccines reduced severe disease and deaths in the pandemic and warned about the harms of misinformation. Governor Josh Green of Hawaii, who was invited to testify, described decisions his state made during the pandemic and said, "When I speak as a doctor, I'm here to say that vaccines save lives, period."
Witnesses urged the committee to expand research into long COVID and vaccine‑associated conditions, improve access to clinical care, and reform compensation and safety surveillance programs. The committee did not resolve any policy changes in the hearing; senators from both parties signaled they want further document review and follow‑up testimony.
