The New York Times Begrudgingly Acknowledges Vaccine Injuries

By Louis Conte, Headlines Editor, The Kennedy Beacon

On Friday, May 3, The New York Times published an article by Apoorva Mandavilli that was remarkable for what it said –– and what it did not say. 

Titled “Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening?” the article recognized for the first time in the ‘paper of record’ that people have been harmed from taking the Covid-19 vaccine. But it fell short of recognizing the evidence of excess deaths following the pandemic, due to Covid vaccines; and the need for a better vaccine injury reporting system. 

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded favorably on X: “Cracks are spreading in the facade. The @nytimes is finally acknowledging Covid vaccine harm. They spin it to portray the vaccines in as favorable a light as possible, but still, this is progress.”

Mandavilli focused on Covid vaccine injuries reported by members of the health community. Kyle Warner, an athlete who was injured and who now works for AV24 [which funds The Kennedy Beacon], was somewhat optimistic about the article, stating, “The New York Times is softly opening the door.”

Ironically, one of the people reporting severe tinnitus after receiving a Covid vaccine is Dr. Gregory Polland, the editor of the journal Vaccine.

Mandavilli quotes Yale University vaccine expert Akiko Iwasaki, who noted that the vaccine-injured have been “just completely ignored and dismissed and gaslighted.” They are often labeled “anti-vaccine,” ostracized, and shunned by the medical profession.

The article featured a mea culpa from former FDA commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock, who admitted that she was disappointed in herself for not giving the Covid vaccine injured the attention they warranted.

The Times article led to Chris Cuomo’s News Nation interview with Nurse Practitioner Shaun Barcavage, one of the people featured in the article. Cuomo disclosed that he believes he was also injured by a Covid vaccine. Are we now seeing the first leaks in the dam of denial on Covid vaccine injuries?

Kennedy again took to X to express hope that it was a “step toward vindication for the vaccine-injured and their families after having been ridiculed and silenced for so many years.”

The article noted that the injuries listed myocarditis, a severe neurological impairment called postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Bell’s palsy, and severe tinnitus. Mandavilli noted that “thousands of Americans believe they suffered serious side effects following Covid vaccination,” but the compensation program established by the government to assist the vaccine-injured has been overwhelmed and backlogged and has compensated only twelve cases so far, the average payout being $3,600.

However, the Times did not address the issue of excess deaths that Dr. Pierre Kory linked to Covid vaccines in his op-ed published by The Hill. Dr. Kory told The Kennedy Beacon, “I found the [Times] article to be frustrating. I suppose it’s a good sign that the dam is starting to leak. A limited hangout is better than a no hangout.”

As one would expect, the Times claimed that the Covid vaccines saved thousands of lives and that significant adverse effects are “rare.” Warner commented on this claim stating, “Public health officials do not have a definition of ‘rare.’ They say that serious events are ‘rare’ but never define what ‘rare’ really means.” Warner added, “In America, there is no ICD Code that doctors can enter into reporting systems describing vaccine injuries. Given that doctors know they will be targeted for commenting on vaccine injuries, you have a system that actually inhibits reporting.”

The Times article also spent four paragraphs criticizing “the rise of the anti-vaccine movement,” vaccine “misinformation,” and “how questions about Covid vaccine safety are core to Robert F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign.” One expert is quoted saying, “the scale of the misinformation is staggering.”

The implication that Kennedy is guilty of spreading vaccine misinformation is at odds with the piece because Mandavilli cites concerns from experts that we do not have an appropriate system for collecting and analyzing vaccine injury data. “The nation’s fragmented health care system complicates detection of very rare side effects, a process that depends on an analysis of huge amounts of data,” Mandavilli writes.

The Times describes the government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) as unreliable. The article claims that federal researchers are combing through massive databases in search of vaccine safety issues. However, Mandavilli quotes Dr. Polland stating, “If they have done studies, those studies should be published.”

Other countries have better vaccine injury reporting systems. After admitting several months ago that its vaccine causes blood clots, AstraZeneca has withdrawn its Covid vaccine from the world wide markets, according to the Independent.

The Times avoided the issue of the federal government’s lack of transparency on vaccine safety data. Kennedy recently noted on X that every word of a 148-page document on vaccine-induced myocarditis was redacted. And he added that as president, “I will oversee a total restoration of our regulatory agencies. They will protect the consumer, not collude with industry.”

How can Kennedy be accused of spreading “misinformation” when we do not have a fully functioning, reliable vaccine adverse event reporting system? For years, Kennedy and other vaccine safety critics have called for such a system. If the public health community and the federal government really wanted a system that captures all vaccine injuries, why would they not create one?

Is it possible that the federal agencies responsible for vaccine safety really do not want to know about vaccines that injure Americans?

Warner stated that the government knew of significant problems with Covid vaccines early on: “In February of 2021, the Israeli government warned the CDC that the mRNA vaccines showed myocarditis in young males,” Warner said. The CDC’s decision to withhold this information from Americans was well discussed on Rising.

With each passing day, Kennedy’s concerns about the safety of Covid vaccines and the capture of the public health establishment by Big Pharma are being validated. The “safe and effective” mantra, which the federal vaccine program rests upon, is slowly unraveling as hollow. Whether intended or not, the Times showed that the government’s vaccine safety monitoring has failed Americans.

Kennedy is right – no one really knows the extent of the damage done by Covid vaccines.