Vaccine Status Comes Up at Judge’s Forum

The topic of COVID vaccines came up at the Republican Candidate Forum in Schulenburg last Saturday, Jan. 22.

Attendees had the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates to the moderator. One of the questions submitted to both the Pct. 4 Commissioner and County Judge candidates asked whether the candidates had been vaccinated.

The Pct. 4 Commissioner candidates, Drew Brossmann and Stephen Matula both said they were vaccinated.

“I have had the two Moderna vaccinations,” Brossmann said. “I have not had the booster.”

“I have also had Moderna, both of the two-round doses, I have not had the booster,” Matula said.

When it was County Judge candidates’ turn to take questions from the audience, they, too, were asked about their vaccination status.

“Yes, Moderna, two shots,” said Lori Berger.

“That is a private matter, and I’m not in the habit of discussing my private medical affairs with the public,” Bernsen said.

Bernsen’s response earned a round of applause from the audience.

Dan Mueller gave the dates when he received his vaccine shots.

“Yes, I got vaccinated on Dec. 28,” Mueller said. “On Jan. 22, I got the second and I got the booster in September.”

Craig Moreau said he agreed with Bernsen’s response.

“I will whole-heartedly agree it’s a private matter,” Moreau said. “Each person has a choice whether they want to discuss it or not. I’m going to choose to discuss mine. But I very much agree with him, it’s a private matter and it’s not everybody’s business. Yes, I am vaccinated and I got COVID after that. I think it probably gave me some protection. I think it will be a decade before we truly know anything about the medicine.

“I was a study coordinator for Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials,” Moreau added. “The speed at which a lot of this stuff has come out has given me some concern. Anyone who tells you they really, absolutely knows something about COVID should be instantly discounted because we’re still learning every single day.”

The audience also gave Moreau a round of applause after his response.