Hello. My name is Spiro Pantazatos. I am a PhD biomedical scientist. In the summer of 2021, I was among the first academics to study and report on unfavorable COVID vaccine risk-benefit profiles and the many misleading and false assertions reported in the literature and media about their safety and efficacy. Once I learned about the potential risks of the COVID vaccines, which I later confirmed through my own original research, I felt morally and ethically obligated to speak out no matter what the costs. In August, 2021, I emailed executive leadership at Columbia University (CU) and Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), where I was junior faculty at the time, my concerns and findings and urged them to reconsider their vaccine mandate. I told them I thought the mandates would cause more harm than good, especially in young adults and people already infected with the virus.

In October, 2021, I co-authored and posted a manuscript showing robust associations between vaccine dose administration and all-cause mortality in subsequent months. It was widely circulated by Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Peter McCullough, and Steve Kirsch among others and has over 500k views. I presented the study at a COVID Symposium at Columbia University (CU) in December, 2021. I also forwarded my findings to the CU COVID director since at the time they were still deciding whether to mandate the 1st COVID booster. In January of 2022, my paychecks and health insurance stopped for no known reason. I pushed and was able to get reemployed in March of 2022.

However, in June of 2022, my yearly appointment renewal was denied. My department COO said it was because I was noncompliant with the CU vaccine policy. I was working 100% remotely at the time, and CU’s policy (be vaccinated or obtain an exemption) explicitly applied to CU members who were on site and “present on campus”. Forcing 100% remote workers to comply with the mandate was irrational since the gold standard of preventing transmission in the workplace is to quarantine at home. This rule was not sent out or distributed to CU members. It also contradicted the NYC vaccine mandate on private employers that explicitly excluded remote workers.

In August, 2022, as CU was considering mandating the fall bivalent booster, I circulated a petition with over 90 scientific references to CU and CUIMC affiliates to implore CU not to mandate the bivalent booster. The petition garnered about 1,000 signatures. As a result, my faculty page was removed and then later my institutional emails were removed. Many have credited my activism and petition as the main reason CU did not mandate the bivalent booster in the fall of 2022. I was later invited to write an op ed in the Columbia Spectactor describing my efforts and experiences in January of 2023.

In the fall of 2022 I submitted medical and religious exemption requests to CU and New York State Psychiatric Institute. However, as a result of excessive delays and being prohibited from working remotely (and receiving a paycheck) while they were under review, I did not receive a paycheck for over 12 months. I was finally rehired back to my research scientist position at New York State Psychiatric Institute, in Columbia Psychiatry, after NY state lifted the vaccine requirement. However, I was recently wrongfully terminated from that position in late 2024 (see Update #1). In addition, the paperwork to restore my CUIMC academic title (Assistant Professor of Clinical Neurobiology), which was submitted in February, 2023, was never processed and my former CU academic title has still not been restored.

I have spoken with several excellent attorneys in the areas of employment law and COVID litigation. We believe I am on the receiving end of retaliation and/or breach of contract violating my right to academic freedom at CU for my research views and conclusions on COVID vaccine safety and efficacy, and my outspoken advocacy against the mandates. We believe I have a strong case to recover 1 year of compensatory (lost wages) and possibly other damages. I may also seek punitive damages with proceeds to provide seed funding for vaccine injury research. This would also help set an example so that universities are more responsive to the concerns raised by their own faculty when it comes to public health and safety. I will also ask to help navigate future public health policy decision making at CU in an official capacity.

Your donation, however small, will help enable us to begin this case. I need 10k to cover a retainer in order to begin. Depending on how discovery goes, the fee structure may turn into a contingency fee basis. Much appreciation in advance for your attention, support and contribution.