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County Supes Silent on Nurse Claims of Adverse Reactions to COVID Shots

The Conejo Guardian’s series on Ventura County nurses whistleblowers has been read by millions of people nationwide and was shared and re-posted by national news outlets and others, including one of the world’s most prominent virologists.

In the Guardian series, career nurses working in Ventura County hospitals give detailed accounts of the alarming number of problems such as strokes, brain bleeds, clotting, heart issues in young people, autoimmune reactions and more patients are experiencing in the wake of widespread acceptance of the COVID shots and “boosters.”

In a general email on January 14, 2022, the County admitted that the nurses’ claims of higher patient populations and staff shortages are true. In a statement titled, “Public Health Urges Residents to Avoid Emergency Departments for COVID-19 Testing or Minor Health Concerns,” the County public health department said there was “strain on the local health care system” including “critical staff shortages,” which the County tried to ascribe to COVID-19.

The nurses interviewed by the Guardian also report that doctors essentially never entertain the possibility of an adverse reaction to a COVID shot.

The Conejo Guardian sought comment from Ventura County supervisors, but all five supervisors refused to address concerns raised by the nurses and failed to answer even basic questions about the County’s definitions of “vaccinated,” “unvaccinated” and the County’s newly introduced term — “not fully vaccinated,” which they have yet to define.

Further, unelected contracted County public health officer Robert Levin claimed that “As of now we have received no such credible reports” of adverse reactions. If true, this would make Ventura County unique in the world since it is now widely accepted that COVID shots do cause numerous harmful reactions in some recipients.

Levin also repeated outdated claims about COVID shot efficacy, ignoring global data, which tells a different unfolding story. For example, the Times of Israel reported in September on a study of more than 90,000 people, half with natural immunity, half receiving “full vaccination” from COVID shots. According to the report, “Natural immunity from contracting coronavirus provided Israelis with longer-lasting protection against the Delta variant than two shots of the Pfizer vaccine given early this year, new Israeli research suggests.”

The information Levin provided to back up his claims was from a pro-vaccination entity in Nebraska, plus two articles posted by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The only supervisor to respond even in part to the Conejo Guardian’s questions was Carmen Ramirez, who wrote, “I have sent your questions to public health officials for a response. I know nurses who work for the county, and they tell a very different story.”

Nurses in the Guardian’s two previous articles spoke out forcefully about doctors’ refusal to consider that the dramatic surge in serious problems in their hospitals could be due in part to adverse reactions to COVID shots. The articles quickly went around the world and became the subject of radio programs, podcasts, articles, tweets and more by some of the nation’s leading scientists, news sources and commentators, including Dr. Robert Malone, Gateway Pundit, Eric Metaxas and tech entrepreneur and health freedom activist Steve Kirsch, who wrote in the comments section of the Conejo Guardian website:

“A big thank you to the healthcare workers who risk their careers to speak to the press about what is really happening in hospitals, and thank you to the Conejo Guardian for publishing the story. I live in Santa Clara county, and our local newspaper, The San Jose Mercury News, would never publish any story that challenges ‘the narrative’ that the vaccines are ‘safe and effective.’ THANK YOU.”

“A big thank you to the healthcare workers who risk their careers to speak to the press about what is really happening in hospitals.”

Steve Kirsch

Kirsch continued, ”When I show this article to people and ask ‘why would these people risk their career and lie?’ they are unable to answer and stop talking to me. On Nextdoor, when I ask that question, the post gets removed in minutes. People are afraid of hearing the truth.”

Seeking the County’s view, the Guardian posed key questions to all five County supervisors and the County’s highest-paid public health officers. Questions included:

• As one of the top elected leaders in the county, responsible for county health policy and the hiring and firing of all county health leaders, are you concerned that adverse reactions to Covid shots are causing harm or being under-reported?

• How would you comfort or correct someone who believes they have lost a loved one to an adverse reaction?

• What can you say about the fact that most county Covid cases are among “vaccinated” individuals, and that hospitals themselves are experiencing significant outbreaks of Covid among nurses who have received multiple Covid shots?

• Whistleblowing nurses report a significant staffing shortage and an influx of new, in some cases under-trained, nurses into county hospitals. Are you aware of this, and does this possibility bother you?

• Every nurse we spoke with says that natural immunity against Covid is given little value by doctors and fellow nurses, compared to Covid shots. Should natural immunity be given more recognition as protective against Covid, compared to Covid shots, in your view?

• How do you explain the significant surge in patient populations and serious problems such as the ones described above and in our articles?

• How are you responding at a local level to the broad recognition, including by public health agencies worldwide, that Covid shots can cause specific adverse reactions? Do you need links to reports of how public health authorities around the world are changing their implementation of vaccine strategies because of these now-recognized adverse reactions, or are you aware of these reports already?

The only person to offer a substantive response was Levin, who denied that adverse reactions are happening.

“I would be concerned about both of these issues you raise adverse reactions to Covid shots, and the under-reporting of these reactions if they were reported to the health department with supporting evidence,” he wrote in response. “As of now we have received no such credible reports. We have tracked reactions to vaccines very closely at county vaccination sites and these have overwhelmingly been minor – feeling faint, flushing, pain at the injection site. Out of an abundance of caution we have sent a few people to the Emergency Room. The vast majority, perhaps all, were sent home from there. We have had no credible, substantiated deaths from COVID vaccination in our county.”

While the supervisors said nothing, Levin also replied to the Guardian’s question about why so many “vaccinated” Ventura County residents are being hospitalized and are still contracting COVID-19.

“We know that both the Delta and now even more, Omicron can cause infections in fully vaccinated people,” he wrote. “This is no different than some other vaccines. What a good vaccine does is protect you from being admitted to the hospital and from dying. If you are immune-compromised, you may not get an antibody response from the vaccine. These people will be affected by Omicron as if they were not vaccinated at all. We also know that about 5 months out from being vaccinated, even a normal person’s immunity derived from the vaccine will begin to fade. So some vaccinated people will wind up in the hospital. If 100% of us were vaccinated, then all people admitted to the hospital for COVID would be vaccinated.”

To the issue of serious staffing shortages in Ventura County hospitals, the supervisors were again silent, but Levin replied: “We are seeing staffing shortages throughout the nation in health care. Of course this bothers me. There is not a profession in the world where new entrants don’t have less experience than seasoned members of their professions.”

Regarding natural immunity, the supervisors said nothing, but Levin wrote: “We know that if a person has a COVID infection followed by a COVID vaccine, they will have a higher level of antibodies than someone who had two doses of the same vaccine. This is not an argument for allowing yourself to get COVID as a way to protect yourself. You can be hospitalized from COVID, die from COVID and suffer from long COVID. However, infection alone does not stack up against being fully vaccinated and pales in comparison even further if the person is boosted.”

“Delta and now even more, Omicron can cause infections in fully vaccinated people.”

Dr. Robert Levin

Levin’s assertion that natural immunity is inferior to inoculation via COVID shots is demonstrably false, according to numerous studies published in recent months, including a study done in Israel by Maccabi Healthcare Service and reported in the Times of Israel (“Study: COVID recovery gave Israelis longer-lasting Delta defense than vaccines,” Sept. 2, 2021). According to the Times, “People who had two vaccine shots had a six-fold higher chance of getting infected with Delta than patients who hadn’t been vaccinated but previously contracted the coronavirus, according to the research.”

In a series of emails, County leaders would not say if and when their definition of “fully-vaccinated” might change. Their response via a publicity officer: “This is in the CDC’s hands.” The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) neither makes nor enforces policy at any level of government but is rather a research and advisory agency with no power to make law. When asked if Ventura County was essentially legislating whatever the CDC happened to advise, the leaders did not respond.

The County confirmed that it considers a person not to be “boosted” until two weeks after he or she receives a booster shot. The County public health officer then introduced a new and yet-to-be-defined term: “not fully vaccinated.” In response to the Guardian’s question, the County representative stated: “If the person has already had 1 J&J or 2 mRNA vaccines and 2 weeks have not passed since the 1 J&J or the second mRNA vaccine, then they would be considered ‘not fully vaccinated,’ per our Public Health Officer, not unvaccinated.”

The Guardian then asked for the County’s definitions of “unvaccinated,” “fully vaccinated” and “not fully vaccinated.” The County only defined “fully vaccinated,” writing that it means “1 J&J or 2 mRNA vaccines (Moderna or Pfizer).” Tens of thousands who received initial COVID shots but have not or will not receive the “boosters” are now labeled “not fully vaccinated,” a category for which the County has not given any definition.

The Conejo Guardian repeatedly sought current information from local hospitals, but hospitals have not responded.

Joel Kilpatrick
Joel Kilpatrick
Joel Kilpatrick is a writer and journalist.

5 COMMENTS

  1. You are arguing your case a little too much, and it hurts your credibility as a journalist. While there are certainly adverse reactions to just about any vaccine, including COVID, recent studies also suggest that those who get breakthrough COVID Omicron infections develop super immunity. Why are these studies not referenced? See for example: https://news.ohsu.edu/2021/12/16/breakthrough-infections-generate-super-immunity-to-covid-19-study-suggests. There is a lot of propaganda on both sides of this issue. It is very hard to find unbiased information. It assumes people can’t really form there own opinion, and if there are additional facts, they aren’t important or should be ignored. No local hospitals is a research facility, and responding to this type of inquiry would be meaningless. Anything they say would inflame someone. It’s a no win. By mentioning they did not respond, there is an inference of some sort of cover up. That’s inappropriate. Everyone should have the right to decide whether to get vaccinated in my opinion, but they ought to make that critical decision with unbiased information. Are people are getting too entrenched on one side or another to be rational, defending their position regardless of anything else?

  2. Thank you for continuing this series! The lies by the political class are nothing compared tp the deceit of the medical profession which has revealed itself as subservient to #BigPharma and uninterested in patient health and well being. The esteem with which the profession was once held has been lost, as the rot that is Obamacare forces Doctors to become employees. They seem to seek only the shelter of a paycheck and have forsaken their oath to First, do No harm. They are now shills for the Bio Security State.

  3. CDC’s weekly review dated 1/19/22 indicates that vaccination of those with natural immunity does not improve immunity. Natural immunity alone is slightly better than what occurs from vaccination.

    Here is a link to a review of the report for you to review and form your own opinion.

    https://youtu.be/25-iJKPA1CA

  4. I live up north but I read your site for accurate information about what is going on in our Marxist state. Thank you for your courage in trying to actually educate your readers. This is rare these days. At this point, anyone who says that the shots don’t harm, maim, or kill scores of people is either a liar or delusional.

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