MILWAUKEE — Sen. Ron Johnson, echoing unsubstantiated claims from anti-vaxxers, is planning an event Monday in Milwaukee questioning COVID-19 vaccine safety.

Despite COVID-19 vaccines getting credit for the rapid return to normal in the United States over the past few months, anti-vaxxers inexplicably continue to push the falsehood that COVID-19 vaccines are somehow more dangerous than the disease itself.

Senate candidate Tom Nelson has been one of Johnson’s most vocal critics.

“Ron Johnson has become one of the most dangerous men in America,” Neson said. “He is a liar and a nihilist driven to hurt as many people as he can.”

Nelson, the Outagamie County Executive, was the first Democrat to jump into the 2022 Senate race.

Johnson has yet to say if he will run for re-election.

Critics say events like Johnson’s put people who are still deciding whether or not to vaccinate at risk.

Johnson typically highlights claims of anti-vaxxers, while at the same time denying he is anti-vaccine and is a supporter of the COVID-19 vaccine.

So far, the Centers for Disease Control and prevention reports that three deaths appear to be linked to blood clots that occurred after people got the J&J vaccine. However blood clots are treatable, and with increased awareness, health officials say future deaths are unlikely.

Those cases are from more than 309 million vaccine doses were given in the US as of June 7, 2021.

“There are occasional side effects. They’ve been very mild. And the risk of dying from COVID, if you’re unvaccinated or having long-haul syndrome, is much higher than any kinds of issues patients have with side effects,” UW Health Primary Care Dr. Jeff Huebner told Fox6 MIlwaukee.

However in media interviews, most people with side effects still recommend the vaccine.

Nearly all COVID-19 related deaths now come among those who have not been vaccinated.