- Nearly 500 doctors had complaints filed against them over spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
- But only 4% received disciplinary action from state medical boards, the Washington Post reports.
Nearly 500 doctors had complaints of spreading COVID-19 misinformation filed against them in the last three years. And state medical boards only disciplined 4% of those doctors, a $4 revealed.
From January 2020 to June 2023, the Post identified at least 480 complaints against physicians, related to spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of these complaints related to doctors promoting the use of $4 or hydroxychloroquine.
Then-President Donald $4 in 2020, but health authorities have demonstrated they are ineffective against COVID-19 and can have dangerous side effects.
Both the $4 and the $4 recommend against the use of either drug for COVID-19 treatment.
Out of the 20 doctors disciplined for spreading COVID-19 misinformation, five of them lost their medical licenses, the Post reported.
Others received fines but continued practicing — for instance, the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services fined a doctor just $3,943 after he prescribed two patients ivermectin to treat COVID-19, $4. Both patients later died.
Meanwhile, it is becoming even more difficult for some states to discipline doctors. Seven states have passed legislation since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the ability of medical boards to punish doctors who prescribe either of the drugs, the Post reported.
This includes Florida, where Republican legislators pushed a law that passed in May $4 from punishing doctors who spread COVID-19 misinformation on social media, Axios reported.