Wisconsin's Johnson to tout claims of vaccine side effects

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, a vocal critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, announced plans Friday to hold a news conference bringing together people who claim to have had adverse reactions to the vaccine, including the wife of a former Green Bay Packer player.

Johnson, who has also advocated for alternative and unproven treatments for COVID-19, said the Monday event in Milwaukee will allow people from across the country to tell their stories and concerns he said have been “repeatedly ignored” by the medical community.

Johnson, who has no medical training or expertise, hasn't been vaccinated, saying he doesn't think he has to because he had the virus last year and formed natural antibodies. He has said he's “just asking questions” and isn't against vaccines, but doctors and other critics have blasted him for spreading misinformation.

Dr. Jeff Huebner, a family doctor in Madison, said Johnson was “promoting dangerous and unfounded claims about COVID-19 vaccines” that contradict medical data and evidence.

“As a member of the Wisconsin medical community I’m gravely concerned about the impact his event and remarks will have on our ability to return to normal and protect Wisconsinites from COVID-19.,” Huebner said in a statement.

Nearly all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now are in people who weren’t vaccinated, with “breakthrough” infections in fully vaccinated people accounting for fewer than 1,200 of the more than 853,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations in May, based on an Associated Press analysis.

YouTube this month removed an interview Johnson did with the Milwaukee Press Club during which he touted the benefits of alternative treatments for COVID-19 and suspended Johnson for a week, saying his comments violated the company's “medical misinformation...