COVID-19 vaccines have not been linked to as many as 3.9 million deaths.
Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said on May 9, 2026, on “Real America’s Voice” that the 39,000 deaths reported on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System could be low and the real number could be 100 times higher because most people don’t report to the system.
VAERS, run by U.S. health agencies, is an early warning system for vaccine problems, but its data isn’t evidence that vaccines caused deaths.
VAERS says submitting a report does not mean the vaccine caused an adverse event. Reports are not analyzed for accuracy.
A 2022 review found potential links in 38 deaths out of 8 billion doses of vaccine administered. A 2026 analysis from the National Institutes of Health found no evidence COVID vaccines increased sudden cardiac death in healthy young adults.
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Mississippi River conservation groups are among a broad coalition urging the federal government to take action against nitrate contamination in drinking water, which they say has reached “crisis levels” and is a public health emergency.
Nitrate, which forms when nitrogen-rich sources combine with oxygen, has long been found in the country’s surface waters and groundwater, where it can end up in people’s drinking water. Consuming water with elevated levels of nitrate is linked to birth defects, thyroid problems and some cancers.
Agricultural fertilizer and manure are the most common sources of nitrogen to groundwater, with septic systems and lawn fertilizers also contributing. An April analysis from the Environmental Working Group found that about 18% of the U.S. population from 2021 to 2023 used drinking water from community systems with 3 milligrams per liter (mg/L) or more of nitrate, the threshold at which the Environmental Protection Agency says indicates contamination.
Advocates say nitrate contamination has struggled to capture public attention but is costly and hazardous to those it affects.
A May 5 letter to the Department of Health and Human Services and the EPA was signed by 80-plus groups, about a third of which are located in or focused on the Mississippi River basin. It calls on the agencies to “immediately identify and eliminate sources of nitrate pollution in drinking water and provide funds to communities to reduce nitrate to safe levels.”
The letter cites a recent report from the Iowa Environmental Council and the Harkin Institute at Drake University in Des Moines that found high nitrate levels in drinking water, as well as the presence of pesticides and forever chemicals, are linked to rising cancer rates in Iowa. Intensive farming across the state, including corn, soy and hogs, is the dominant source of nitrate pollution, the report notes.
“We understand these are long-term problems,” said Tyler Lobdell, senior attorney at Food & Water Watch, which spearheaded the letter. “The longer we wait to address root causes, the more difficult, and more expensive (it is), and the more harm is caused in the long run.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. A spokesperson for the EPA said it is beginning the next round of review of national drinking water regulations, last published in 2024.
Too much nitrogen taints drinking water, hurts river ecosystem
Nitrate contamination is a widespread problem across the country, especially in the Corn Belt, but actions to address it have been slow-going.
Groups in multiple states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, have previously petitioned the EPA to take emergency action on nitrate problems in specific regions. Lobdell said the agency has either ignored or given an insufficient response to those petitions, dating back several years and multiple presidential administrations.
Under former President Joe Biden, the EPA restarted an assessment — which had been suspended during the first Trump administration — of the impacts of nitrate on human health. Environmental advocates had hoped that it could lead to an adjustment of the national standard for nitrate in drinking water, which currently sits at 10 mg/L, because some research shows impacts to human health below that level. Little progress has been made on the assessment.
Beyond human health impacts, too much nitrogen in surface water can drive excessive algae growth, causing harm to fish and other aquatic life. It’s one culprit, in addition to phosphorus, in the creation of the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone,” an area of low oxygen that spans thousands of square miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Kelly McGinnis, executive director of the environmental advocacy organization One Mississippi, a signatory on the letter, said that humans aren’t separate from the environment and that addressing nitrate contamination would have positive impacts on both.
She said she hopes the letter catches the attention of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pledged to “Make America Healthy Again” and has shown interest in reducing toxins in people’s diets.
“We felt the urgency right now to take advantage of the new research (from Iowa) to say, ‘Hey, this is something you guys need to be addressing,'” McGinnis said.
The spokesperson for the EPA said the agency is “committed to Making America Healthy Again by taking real, tangible steps to evaluate risks of nitrates in drinking water while following the law and gold standard science.”
Doula services aren’t covered by Wisconsin Medicaid – known as BadgerCare – as of April 2026.
Doulas provide emotional support and education around childbirth. Unlike midwives (which are covered), they don’t perform medical tasks.
A Wisconsin Department of Health Services spokesperson confirmed doulas aren’t covered as a stand-alone benefit for Medicaid recipients.
State law requires the health department to get legislative approval before making changes to Medicaid. Doula coverage has been proposed by Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic lawmakers but has not come to pass.
According to the National Health Law Program, 26 states and Washington, D.C., are actively reimbursing for Medicaid coverage of doula care. Seven more are in the process of doing so.
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