Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Friday that he will be hosting a panel discussion on COVID-19 next week seeking alternatives to the prevailing narrative of the virus.
Among those who will contribute to the discussion will be Drs. Robert Malone, Peter McCullough, Jay Bhattacharya, and Pierre Kory.
Johnson emphasized during his appearance on "Eric Bolling: The Balance" that one of the "tragic casualties of COVID" has been "free speech."
"As long as I've been alive, I've always been told that if you are facing a serious medical condition, get a second opinion, get a third opinion. But that hasn't been allowed," Johnson said.
"I think, personally, probably hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives because we weren't listening to doctors that had the courage and compassion to treat COVID using widely available cheap, generic drugs that [are] having [a] fabulous safety profile."
Johnson added that dissenting opinions on COVID-19 from doctors have been suppressed by adverse public treatment and job security.
"They've been vilified. They've been fired. They've been sued. They've been censored. They've been harassed ... it's about time that more Americans get to hear the other side of this story," he stated.
The senator also questioned the utility of vaccine mandates if vaccines are not "100% effective," concluding they have only led to shortages in those able to work in healthcare.
"You can get infected; you can transmit it. So, what is the point of the mandates?" Johnson asked.
"We certainly know the harm that mandates are causing. For example, our healthcare facilities. You know, so many hospitals are complaining that they're filling up to capacity. Well, one of the big reasons is because there's been a severe shortage of health workers, and the mandates are exacerbating that shortage," he continued. "So, there aren't enough staff."
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