Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Tuesday that the newly released vaccine schedule for children marks an important turning point, but warned much more must be done to restore trust in public health and protect families.
On "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Johnson called the updated schedule "an incredibly important first step," while urging parents to question long-standing assumptions about vaccine safety testing.
Johnson touted the book "Vaccines, Amen" by attorney Aaron Siri, saying it lays out what he described as serious shortcomings in how vaccines have been studied and approved.
"If you have any questions about what kind of studies have been conducted to ensure the safety and effectiveness of these drugs, you find out they're just completely inadequate," Johnson said.
According to the senator, vaccines currently on the childhood schedule were never tested against true placebo controls, but instead compared with earlier vaccines — a practice he said undermines scientific integrity.
"That's really the next step," Johnson said. "We have to restore the integrity of those types of studies."
Johnson predicted that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will push vaccine manufacturers to meet higher standards, arguing that once a vaccine is approved, meaningful long-term safety surveillance rarely occurs.
"Nobody surveils this long term," Johnson said. "Anybody who tries gets killed, vilified in the mainstream media as anti-vaxxers."
He also criticized what he described as pharmaceutical industry influence over federal health agencies, asserting that vaccine makers face little accountability because of liability protections while generating billions in revenue.
"These guys are making millions and billions of dollars off these vaccines," he said. "They only care about getting these things approved."
Johnson also responded to criticism of the new schedule from his Republican colleague Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician, saying doctors are often taught a narrow, one-sided narrative about vaccines in medical school.
"I've got a great deal of respect for doctors, but they can't know everything.
"And so one thing we, you know, in medical colleges, the only thing they teach about vaccines is they're safe and effective. They use that same narrative," Johnson said.
He added that many physicians trust federal agencies without realizing how deeply, in his view, those agencies have been "captured by Big Pharma."
Johnson said his goal — and Kennedy's — is not to attack medicine, but to protect children by demanding transparency, rigorous science, and honest oversight.
"That's why people like RFK Jr., and people like myself, are willing to stick our necks out," Johnson said. "We're trying to protect our children."
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