Survey of Practicing Physicians Shows Support for Mass Injections ‘Far From Unanimous’: Medical Association

Vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared for packaging at the company’s facility in Puurs, Belgium, in March 2021. Pfizer via AP

An internet survey by a non-partisan physicians’ association found that most respondents have not been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or plan to get the shot.

In the June 16 online survey by the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) in Tuscon, Arizona, nearly 60 percent of over 700 both retired and practicing physicians said they were not fully vaccinated and would decline the shots based on their assessment of risk.

“This contrasts with the claim by the American Medical Association that 96 percent of practicing physicians are fully vaccinated. This was based on 300 respondents,” the AAPS stated in a press release.

While neither survey represents a random sample of all U.S. physicians, the AAPS survey shows that doctor support for the mass injection campaign “is far from unanimous.”

“It is wrong to call a person who declines a shot an ‘anti-vaxxer,’” AAPS Executive Director Jane Orient said in a statement. “Virtually no physicians are ‘anti-antibiotics’ or ‘anti-surgery,’ whereas all are opposed to treatments that they think are unnecessary, more likely to cause harm than to benefit an individual patient, or inadequately tested.”

The survey also showed that 58 percent of the practicing physicians who responded were aware of patients suffering a “significant adverse reaction” after receiving a COVID vaccine.

Orient said most unvaccinated physicians had made their decision based on their assessment that the risk of taking the shots exceeds the risk of the disease, with many responding that they had already contracted COVID-19.

Other reasons for declining the shots included unknown long-term side effects, use of fetal cell lines for vaccine testing, the experimental nature of the injections, other effective early treatments, and reports of deaths and blood clots.

Orient said of another 5,300 non-physicians who were invited to take part in the survey, 2,548 said they knew about associated adverse effects that included death, amputation, paralysis, stillbirth, menstrual abnormalities, blindness, seizures, and heart issues.

According to July 2 Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a total of 411,931 reports of adverse events have been reported in association with the COVID-19 shots, of which 6,985 patients died.

These voluntary reports were received between Dec. 14, 2020 and June 25, 2021.

“Causality is not proven,” Orient said. “However, many episodes might have resulted in a huge product liability or malpractice award if they had occurred after a new drug. Purveyors of these COVID products are protected against lawsuits.”

Pushes for Vaccine Uptake

The Biden administration recently announced that it would be conducting a door-to-door vaccine acceptance campaign to show “vaccine hesitant” Americans that the shots are both safe and effective for treatment and prevention of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus that causes COVID-19.

In an unrelated development, Banner Health, one of the largest nonprofit health care providers in the country, announced on July 20 that its 50,000 employees had until Nov. 1 to be fully vaccinated, with “limited exceptions.”

“We care for some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and we owe it to them to take every measure possible to ensure the safest care environment,” said Peter Fine, president and CEO for Banner Health, in a company-wide email on July 20.

“We are taking this step to reduce risk for our patients, their families, visitors, and each other. Safety is an absolute top priority and the COVID vaccine mandate reflects that commitment. The vaccine data has fully supported the safety and efficacy to prevent disease and reduce its severity. There is overwhelming evidence for us to act on behalf of the communities that rely on us to care for and protect them.”

Banner Health said in a press release it is implementing the vaccine requirement in response to the rise of the Delta variant, the pending removal of the Emergency Use Authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the need to protect the company’s patients and workforce, and to prepare for the flu season.

“In addition, national data shows that 97 percent of hospitalizations and 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths are in the unvaccinated,” according to the press release.

The data behind these numbers have not been made public.

As an incentive for employees to get the shots, Banner said it will conduct drawings in July and August with 10 winners total for all fully vaccinated team members. The winners will receive $10,000 each.