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Texas Doctor Has Privileges Suspended For Spreading ‘Dangerous’ COVID-19 Misinformation Online

   DailyWire.com
Close-up of text reading Ivermectin on a container of veterinary medication, Lafayette, California, September, 2021.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

A doctor based in Houston, Texas, has had her privileges suspended based on what hospital officials are calling the spread of “dangerous misinformation”online regarding COVID-19.

Mary Bowden, who is an ear, nose and throat doctor at Houston Methodist Hospital, shared opinions on social media on the subject of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and COVID-19 treatments. According to a hospital spokesperson who spoke with The Washington Post, “Bowden, who recently joined the hospital’s medical staff, has been suspended for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ and sharing ‘harmful’ personal and political opinions about the coronavirus vaccine and treatments.” 

“The physician’s privileges at Houston Methodist have been suspended,” Patti Muck said in an email, adding that the hospital granted Bowden privileges within the last year.

According to The Post, Bowden’s attorney, Steve Mitby, said his client has treated more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients and is “not anti-vaccine.”

“Like many Americans, Dr. Bowden believes that people should have a choice and believes that all people, regardless of vaccine status, should have access to the same high quality health care,” Mitby said.

As The Post notes, “Earlier this year, more than 150 health-care workers with the Houston Methodist resigned or were terminated for not complying with its vaccine mandate. The Houston-based hospital system said Bowden, who is vaccinated against the coronavirus, has never admitted a patient at the medical center, which has treated more than 25,000 covid patients. The hospital was one of the country’s first to require proof of vaccination.”

“The Houston doctor is the latest medical professional suspended for promoting coronavirus misinformation and the consumption of ivermectin, an unproven treatment the Food and Drug Administration has said can be “dangerous” and potentially fatal,” the Post noted. 

The tweets referenced by media reports include “Ivermectin might not be as deadly as everyone said it was,” which Bowden tweeted on Nov. 10. “Speak up!”

Bowden also tweeted that “Vaccine mandates are wrong,” alongside an image which read, “What the government is doing to its citizens in the United States is incomprehensible. Thank you for what you do for your patients. God bless you and your staff.”

Neither the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) nor the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended the use of Ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, and the FDA has explicitly said not to use it to treat or prevent COVID-19. 

“The FDA has not authorized or approved ivermectin for use in preventing or treating COVID-19 in humans or animals. Ivermectin is approved for human use to treat infections caused by some parasitic worms and head lice and skin conditions like rosacea,” says the FDA. “Currently available data do not show ivermectin is effective against COVID-19. Clinical trials assessing ivermectin tablets for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 in people are ongoing.”

“Talk to your health care provider about available COVID-19 vaccines and treatment options. Your provider can help determine the best option for you, based on your health history,” says the FDA.

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