Hearings to examine COVID-19 injections and attacks on scientific publications

Health Care Costs and Drug PricingSenate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations · 2026-06-03 · 119th Congress
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Begins at 0:20:54
Transcript
Highlights

Title

Alleged mRNA vaccine-cancer mechanisms and attacks on researchers

Purpose

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), convened this hearing to examine claimed biological mechanisms by which COVID-19 mRNA injections might contribute to cancer, and to hear from researchers who say their publications and careers were attacked after raising such concerns. Witnesses included oncologists, a gastroenterologist/microbiome researcher, an epidemiologist, and a cervical cancer survivor and advocate, with Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) countering that major cancer authorities find no evidence linking the vaccines to cancer. The hearing recessed for a Senate vote and resumed roughly an hour later. Begins at0:20:54

Who spoke

Chair Ron Johnson (R-WI)0:20:54: Opened by describing how he met Dr. Hazan and Dr. El-Deiry and organized the hearing around alleged suppression of research0:20:540:21:58; argued big pharma advertising since 1997 has captured media and medical institutions0:23:23, and later led extensive questioning of witnesses on modified mRNA, biodistribution, FDA safety-signal masking, and a Commonwealth Fund study he called fraudulent1:56:112:08:112:30:24.

Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)0:28:55: Cited the National Cancer Institute's conclusion that there is no evidence COVID-19 vaccines cause or worsen cancer0:28:55; argued Trump administration funding cuts are slowing cancer research0:34:20 and questioned Dr. Gralow and Ms. Felder on the value of continued research funding and HPV vaccination1:48:051:53:13.

Dr. Angus Dalgleish, oncologist, City St. George's University of London0:37:36: Described six melanoma patients relapsing after booster vaccines0:38:01, cited a Madrid paper on T-cell exhaustion after a third dose0:38:57, and said mRNA vaccine technology "should be banned" for future use0:42:32; later argued the spike protein is dangerous and persists in the body, and that no coroner would test tissue for spike protein2:39:42.

Dr. Wafik El-Deiry, cancer researcher, Brown University0:43:13: Testified his lab found spike protein could reduce p53 tumor-suppressor activity0:45:36 and identified nearly 70 papers describing over 300 cancer cases following COVID mRNA vaccination0:48:01; described sustained attacks on his publications via the PubPeer platform despite no findings of fraud0:46:390:49:18.

Dr. Saskia Mostert, researcher, Amsterdam UMC0:51:08: Said her team's 2024 study found over 3 million excess deaths across 47 countries from 2020-20220:51:35; described being pushed to resign after the paper was retracted despite no finding of scientific misconduct0:55:350:56:05.

Dr. Sabine Hazan, CEO, ProgenaBiome0:59:22: Said her lab was first to document COVID in patient stool samples, published in 2021 and retracted in 2025 without justification1:01:35; testified hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin reduced viral presence but harmed the microbiome1:01:56, and that COVID vaccines killed beneficial Bifidobacterium1:05:40.

Dr. Aseem Malhotra, cardiologist, UK1:23:04: Said his father died of cardiac arrest after two vaccine doses, with evidence suggesting vaccine-accelerated atherosclerosis1:24:04; published a 2022 paper finding serious-harm frequency two to four times more likely than hospitalization from severe COVID1:24:33, and later discussed misinformation risks around statins for President Trump3:14:56.

Dr. Julie Gralow, Chief Medical Officer, Association for Clinical Oncology1:28:25: Testified there is no clinical evidence mRNA vaccines cause or accelerate cancer1:29:55 and that vaccinated cancer patients had better COVID survival outcomes1:31:15; under Johnson's questioning acknowledged she could not confirm whether vaccine components stayed in the arm1:41:46 but said RNA does not enter DNA1:43:04.

Ms. Tamika Felder, cervical cancer survivor and advocate1:34:04: Testified as a 25-year cervical cancer survivor that HPV vaccination could have changed her life's trajectory1:34:51; said continued attacks on HPV vaccines will cause more deaths1:53:25 and that misinformation "causes more deaths"1:55:16.

Key moments

Johnson and Dr. Gralow disputed whether COVID mRNA is "true mRNA" or modified; Gralow initially said she understood it degrades rapidly, and Johnson responded it is modified, doesn't degrade quickly, and circulates for up to two years1:40:321:41:041:56:30.

Dr. El-Deiry and Dr. Dalgleish discussed DNA contaminants (including SV40 promoter sequences) in vaccine vials, citing findings reproduced by researchers David Speicher and Jessica Rose at levels exceeding FDA thresholds1:57:311:59:29.

Johnson presented FDA safety-surveillance data he said showed officials were warned in March 2021 that their algorithm was masking safety signals, then later saw 25 signals including sudden cardiac death and stroke but continued using the flawed algorithm2:08:112:10:36.

Johnson challenged a Commonwealth Fund study claiming 3.2 million lives saved by vaccines, presenting his own mortality charts to argue the claim doesn't match actual U.S. death data2:30:242:31:46.

Blumenthal established that Gralow's association of 50,000 oncology professionals holds the predominant view that there is no clinical evidence mRNA vaccines cause cancer, matching the National Cancer Institute's own website statement1:48:59.

Dr. Hazan said a fraudulent, non-medical-authored study was used to discredit hydroxychloroquine, including citing Australian COVID patients when Australia reportedly had no COVID cases at the time of publication2:04:14.

Dr. Dalgleish said the UK CDC-equivalent reported 18 million people severely disabled by the vaccine in 2024, updated this year to over 30 million2:36:39.

Dr. El-Deiry described a cyberattack on the journal that published his January 2025 findings, blocking access to the paper for at least a week2:17:55.

Gralow and Johnson discussed the Right to Try Act, with Gralow saying paperwork requirements make it very difficult for practitioners to secure experimental treatment access for terminal patients2:56:59.

Dr. Malhotra argued cholesterol-lowering drugs offer only marginal benefit for low-risk patients over 75, using publicly available data about President Trump's health regimen as an example of possible misinformed prescribing3:14:563:15:53.

Metadata

CommitteeSenate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Chamber / CongressSenate · 119th Congress
Date2026-06-03
TypeOpen Hearing
Witnesses
(none listed in event metadata)
Videosenate-isvp
Transcript444 caption blocks · 20,605 words · 3:20:50 runtime
EventCongress.gov 338510