Chicago City Wire

A Marine Leadership Academy administrator has been fired after sending an email encouraging the school community to study COVID-19 vaccines more, and for advocating against their use in children.

Col. Lawrence Kaifesh sent the email with the subject line “Important Update,” notifying recipients he had tested positive for COVID-19.

Kaifesh said he regretted not being able to return to the academy and was suffering from “no major symptoms minus some sinus congestion.”

Kaifesh is a decorated 23-year combat veteran with the U.S. Marine Corps who did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2014, he ran for U.S. Congress, challenging then incumbent Tammy Duckworth in Illinois' 8th District.

“I chose not to get vaccinated due to the information I found on the Open VAERS government website,” he said.

In the email to parents. he quoted statistics from the Open Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System (VAERS) website, where medical professionals report adverse impacts and deaths from vaccines.

From COVID-19 vaccines, VAERS currently lists over 18,000 deaths, 95,000 vaccine injuries and nearly a million “adverse Event Reports.” This is more than all other vaccines combined over the past decade.

“These numbers are very concerning and it would be valuable to review this website and the numbers with your doctor before getting the vaccine or a booster,” Kaifesh said in the email.

The CDC says the VAERS database is not necessarily proof the events reported are accurate, as they are self-reported.

“There are limitations to VAERS data. A report to VAERS does not mean that the vaccine caused the adverse event, only that the adverse event occurred some time after vaccination,” the CDC notes in a disclaimer.

Reporting VAERS data recently resulted in Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson being censored by YouTube.

“Why won't they let the vaccine injured tell their stories and medical experts give a second opinion? Why can't we discuss the harmful effects of mandates?” Johnson said in a statement.

Kaifesh also directed parents and students to The Unity Project website. The group advocates against Covid vaccine mandates for children and includes a group of medical doctors as its board board members. 

Kaifesh’s removal comes as the school is also embroiled in a sex scandal in which 12 employees and one volunteer are accused of sexual abuse.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez commented on an email at a press conference criticizing Kaifesh for the email.

“This was mainly, frankly, spreading false information about vaccines, which is just contrary to everything Dr. Arwady and I have been preaching and speaking about,” Martinez said.  

The Marine Leadership Academy is based in Logan Square. Its enrollment is around 780. The institution employee 40 full-time faculty members.

Read the email below:

I regret I have not been able to return to the Academy in person due to me testing positive for COVID-19. I was surprised with the test results as I have no major symptoms minus some sinus congestion. I chose not to get vaccinated due to the information I found on the Open VAERS government website, https://openvaers.com/ which identifies 18,853 Vaccine Reported Deaths and 95,537 Vaccine Reported Hospitalizations as of 12 Nov 2021. It should be noted; these numbers are believed to be only 1% of the real numbers. These numbers are very concerning and it would be valuable to review this website and the numbers with your doctor before getting the vaccine or a booster.

I will add that there is a new project called the Unity Project, https://unityprojectonline.com/ created and supported any a group of globally esteemed experts in health care and science highlighting the dangers of vaccinating children. These experts are against “forcing children as young as five-years-old to effectively become human shields, assuming vaccine-injury-risk despite having statistically zero risk of COVID-19 to those who are healthy, just so adults with comorbidities can feel safer — what kind of society does that? At no time in history have we put children in harm’s way to protect adults.”

These sources are both very credible and important to review especially if thinking about getting the vaccine or booster.

Wishing you all the very best and hope to see you all soon!

Respectfully,

Col Kaifesh