Americans Injured by COVID Vaccines Testified Alongside Medical and Scientific Experts in a Historic U.S. Senate Roundtable

On November 2, 2021, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) hosted a powerful expert panel discussion in Washington, D.C., titled “COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates and Injuries.” This was not an official Senate hearing but a public roundtable that gave a rare platform to everyday Americans severely injured after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, many of whom had been ignored, dismissed, or “ghosted” by federal health agencies, trial sponsors, and even their own doctors. The panel also featured leading physicians, scientists, and legal experts who raised serious concerns about vaccine safety monitoring, trial transparency, and the rationale for sweeping mandates.

Senator Johnson invited representatives from the FDA, CDC, NIH, Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson to attend and respond directly to the testimonies — none showed up.The nearly five-hour event (full video on Senator Johnson’s Rumble channel) remains one of the only times vaccine-injured individuals and skeptical experts were allowed to speak at length on Capitol Hill without interruption or censorship. Below are the speakers and the key points from their testimonies:

Injured Individuals & Families

Ernest Ramirez — Father from Texas whose healthy 16-year-old son, Ernesto Jr., collapsed and died from myocarditis five days after his Pfizer shot. “They told me it was an enlarged heart… but the autopsy said myocarditis.”
Kellai Rodriguez — Young mother from Washington state who went from running marathons to relying on a walker after severe neurological reactions.
Kyle Warner — Professional mountain biker diagnosed with pericarditis and POTS after Pfizer; he described being dismissed by doctors who refused to link his symptoms to the vaccine.
Stephanie & Maddie de Garay — Maddie, age 12 at the time, was a healthy participant in Pfizer’s pediatric clinical trial. After her second dose she developed severe abdominal/chest pain, gastroparesis, inability to walk, and required a feeding tube and wheelchair. Her mother Stephanie: “Pfizer recorded her injury as ‘functional abdominal pain’ — no follow-up from Pfizer, FDA, or CDC in over a year.”
Doug Cameron — Rancher left with neurological issues and chronic pain.
Suzanna Newell — Former triathlete diagnosed with a rare neurological condition after Moderna.
Brianne Dressen — Utah preschool teacher and mother of two who suffered severe neurological injury (paresthesia, vision/hearing loss, mobility issues) within hours of her AstraZeneca trial dose. She co-founded React19 after discovering thousands in similar situations. “We were unblinded, dropped from the trial, and abandoned.”
**Joel Wallskog, MD — Wisconsin orthopedic surgeon who developed transverse myelitis after Moderna and can no longer operate. 

Military & Medical Professionals

Lt. Col. Theresa Long, MD — U.S. Army flight surgeon who filed an affidavit reporting a surge in vaccine injuries among pilots and soldiers (myocarditis, neurological issues, miscarriages); she grounded vaccinated pilots out of safety concerns.

Scientific & Policy Experts

Peter Doshi, PhD — BMJ senior editor and pharmacovigilance expert: The pivotal trials did not show the vaccines reduce all-cause mortality or stop transmission. “If you get vaccinated you can still get and transmit COVID-19… there is no rational basis for mandates.”
Retsef Levi, PhD — MIT risk-analysis professor who analyzed VAERS and Israeli data, warning of under-reporting and cardiac risks.
Aditi Bhargava, PhD — UCSF molecular biologist on immune system dysregulation and spike protein risks.
Patrick Whelan, MD, PhD → UCLA pediatric rheumatologist who warned FDA in December 2020 that mRNA vaccines could cause microvascular injury (proven prophetic with myocarditis signals).
David Healy, MD — Psychiatrist and world expert on pharmaceutical harms, compared the suppression of injury reports to past SSRI scandals.
Linda Wastila, PhD — University of Maryland pharmacovigilance professor on failures of VAERS and lack of proper safety studies.
Iona Heath, CBE — Former president of the UK Royal College of General Practitioners, spoke on loss of trust when injuries are dismissed.
Aaron Siri, Esq. — Attorney who has filed dozens of FOIA requests on vaccine data; exposed how agencies delayed or hid safety signals.
Kim Witczak — Drug safety advocate whose husband died from an SSRI; warned about pharma influence on regulators and lack of informed consent.

The overwhelming theme: these were pro-vaccine people who trusted the system — clinical trial volunteers, doctors, athletes, parents — until the system failed them. Four years later, many are still suffering without acknowledgment, treatment, or compensation from federal agencies.

The full testimonies remain available on Senator Johnson’s website and Rumble and have been viewed millions of times despite limited mainstream coverage.