When the Government Comes A’Knockin’

Knock knock.

Who’s there?

Hello, my name is Valerie and I am a Community Health Ambassador with the County Health Department. The reason I am here today is to talk to you about the COVID vaccine. Have you received a COVID vaccine already? ⁱ

How do you respond?

Across the country people have been going door-to-door with similar scripts well before President Biden’s announcement of a federal incursion into our communities. In New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy has an “army of community volunteers” to visit targeted homes. ⁱⁱ Lane County, Oregon is considering sending the National Guard to its neighborhoods. ⁱⁱⁱ In Michigan, former Census Director Vicky Kovari’s team will knock on “every door in the city” of Detroit.^iv The grassroots Arizona Center for Empowerment rolled out their Take Your Shot campaign months ago. Governor Gavin Newsome allotted $10 million and hired 2,000 people to knock on doors in California.^v Door-knocking campaigns can also be found in Connecticut,^vi Louisiana,^vii Ohio,^viii and Georgia.^ix Knocks are targeted at the homes of seniors, Latinos, and the black community.

The goal, according to most narratives, is not to influence, but to inform. Governments and grassroots are striving to build trust among the vaccine hesitant and homebound seniors. Some programs, however, are transparent about the intent to urge vaccination, such as one in Lexington, Kentucky. ^x

Chillingly, these injection initiatives have not all stopped at information. At least two programs have actually vaccinated, on the spot, after an unscheduled and unexpected knocks at the door.

In Orange County Florida, firefighters paired with “crews from the state” to walk neighborhoods to find homebound residents over fifty.

“They were prepared to register and vaccinate on the spot.” ^xi

More troubling are visits in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by “vaccine mobilizers,” who administered almost 140 doses in the first eight days of their campaign. ^xii, ^xiii The county partnered with health marketing specialist Lorraine Lathen, owner of Jump at the Sun Consulting, to target “15 zip codes identified as having the highest vulnerability.” ^xiv The health department is simultaneously running a “Crush Covid Crew,” with volunteers trained to inform, not persuade. However, Lathan’s vaccination program appears temporary, and is conspicuously timed with the expiration date of a reported excess of county-purchased J&J vaccine. ^xv Lathan recruited residents as young as 16, promising up to $2,000 in two months. ^xvi Among the crew is Lathan’s twin sister, a teacher “who is using her education skills as a mobile vaccinator.”

Lathen asserts, “Vaccinators are able to take time to talk to residents, educate people with science and give them facts.” But are her vaccinators informing people of reports of blood clots and warning of Guillain-Barre Syndrome associated with the J&J shot? Is she talking about the fact that there is excess J&J vaccine due to widespread public rejection?

More chilling to ponder, did the Health Department of Milwaukee just send unwanted doses of the most dangerous experimental vaccine into their most vulnerable neighborhoods?

A “personal invitation” to join a mass vaccination campaign is not new.^xvii It is a key strategy for organizations like the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). “Frontline vaccinators” have knocked on the door in dozens of countries, including Kenya, Mozambique, Afghanistan.^xviii Partners of GPEI include WHO, CDC, Rotary, UNICEF, Gavi, and Gates Foundation. GPEI boasts the “value of polio infrastructure in COVID-19 support.” ^xix But even in countries where door-to-door vaccinating is common practice, the Covid jab is being rejected because of its experimental nature. ^xx

The Biden Administration’s door-to-door plan prompted national attention to this issue, and many elected officials are pushing back. Governors Henry McMaster (SC) and Mike Parson (MO) are among the most prominent voices against this federal overreach into a state’s right to protect health and welfare its citizens. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich stated in a letter to the President that he would not stand for such activity in his state.^xxi Representatives Lauren Boebert (CO) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA) likened the knockers to “Needle Nazis” and “brownshirts.” Representative Andy Biggs (AZ) called it a “blatant abuse of government authority” in a letter to the president, co-signed by 31 of his colleagues.^xxii

So when a “health ambassador” tries to walk into your community, and into your home, how do you respond?

Here are 5 Simple Steps you can take to make a difference

Put up No Trespassing signs.
Tell any Covid Canvasser that knocks they are trespassing and they need to leave.
Contact your local health department to ask them to issue a position statement against door-to-door intrusions. Send a letter with your concerns or suggested wording below, or call the office with your thoughts or our recommended wording below.
Share this article with your friends so they are not caught by surprise with a visit.
Talk to your elderly family members and neighbors to make sure they know their rights. They are most likely to get visits.

Door-to-door solicitations for information about covid vaccination status have been happening in communities around the country for months, by local government or grassroots organizations. Additionally, President Biden announced an initiative to send federally backed individuals into our community with the intent of entering property without notice.

One of the primary roles retained by the states at the signing of the U.S. Constitution is the preservation of health and welfare of its residents. This is typically carried out at a local level to meet individual needs of a community through the hard work of the Department of Health.

I am writing to urge you to take a stand against door-to-door Covid vaccination campaigns. They are a growing intrusion on the providence of the state, and the privacy and safety of individual residents. Targeted visits are increasingly happening in neighborhoods that are home to our most vulnerable or underserved communities. The intrusion of non-medical agents into a private health care decision is dangerous for our residents and a violation of privacy. The disparate acts of various organizations across the country is concerning for public safety as there is no guarantee of background checks or other safety precautions. And the overreach of the federal government in our backyards is a blatant constitutional violation. No matter who is knocking, private health data is being used to identify specific individuals, and data is being collected with no known tailored use, nor privacy protections.

I urge you to protect our families by adopting a policy precluding door-to-door medical canvassing caravans.

Thank you for your time and consideration of the welfare of our communities.

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Phone Script For Local Health Department

“My name is ____. I live in ______ County. I am asking that the health department issue a position statement prohibiting or strongly discouraging knocking on resident’s doors to discuss personal health care decisions including vaccine status and decisions. Please let me know when our Health Commissioner plans to issue a statement.”

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