'If there is risk, there must be choice': Dr. Robert Malone stirs Defeat Mandates rally in DC

Protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates marched on Washington, D.C. on Sunday, embarking on a mile-long march before convening at a rally outside the Lincoln Memorial.

Organizers with Children's Health Defense predicted 20,000 people would attend the event, Defeat the Mandates.

Speakers included Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., virologist and immunologist Dr. Robert Malone, investigative journalist Lara Logan, and doctors and other experts.

While addressing the crowd on Sunday afternoon, Kennedy described adverse medical events among people who took the jab. Kennedy noted that one vaccine manufacturer, Pfizer, has said it wants to keep research data sealed for 55 years.

"We want it now," Kennedy said.

"Regarding the genetic COVID vaccines, the science is settled: They're not working," asserted Malone, a pioneer of mRNA vaccine techonology who has emerged as a leading COVID vaccine skeptic.

"These vaccines do not prevent Omicron infection, viral replication or spread to others," he continued. "These genetic vaccines are leaky, they have poor durability, and even if every man, woman and child in the United States were vaccinated, they cannot achieve herd immunity and stop COVID.

"They are not completely safe, and the full nature of the risks remain unknown.

"In contrast, the natural immunity which healthy immune systems develop after infection and recovery from COVID is long-lasting, broad, and highly protective from disease and death caused by this virus."

Boiling his message down to a precept that could serve as a rallying cry for the marchers gathered on the National Mall Sunday, Malone said, "If there is risk, there must be choice."

"This," he added, "is the fundamental bedrock truth of modern bioethics."

The issue of COVID-19 vaccines has been hotly contested. But federal and state health officials say vaccines and boosters can keep most patients from getting the most serious cases of COVID-19 leading to hospitalization and death, while acknowledging the vaccine protections wane over time and do allow for breakthrough infections in amny Americans. Federal officials also acknowledge the COVID-19 vaccines have generated a larger than usual number of adverse reaction reports, including suspected deaths and some heart inflammation, and that concerns have grown about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and its tie to blood clotting. Federal officials say those concerns aside, they believe serious vaccine reactions are still fairly rare and in most cases their protections outweigh the risks.