Doctors May Lose Their License If They Spread 'Misinformation' On Covid Jabs, Medical Panel Threatens

The Federation of State Medical Boards warned July 29 that physicians and other healthcare professionals could be at risk of losing their medical licenses if they spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation on social media, online and in the media.

FSMB, a nonprofit that represents all U.S. state medical boards, said any clinicians who create or spread vaccine misinformation or disinformation risk disciplinary action by state medical boards, including suspension or revocation of their medical license, according to a statement emailed to Becker's Hospital Review.

"Due to their specialized knowledge and training, licensed physicians possess a high degree of public trust and therefore have a powerful platform in society, whether they recognize it or not," FSMB said. "They also have an ethical and professional responsibility to practice medicine in the best interests of their patients and must share information that is factual, scientifically grounded and consensus-driven for the betterment of public health."

FSMB has not yet formally defined "misinformation" or "disinformation" in its policy, but the organization's ethics committee is studying the issues of physician misinformation and disinformation and plans to provide more guidance at a later date, an FSMB spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Becker's.

"However, we currently view misinformation as sharing or distributing verifiably false information," the spokesperson said. "We define disinformation as sharing or distributing information that the distributor knows is false."

While FSMB has not formed a recommendation yet for the definitions of misinformation and disinformation, state and territorial medical boards may use various terms, such as "professional misconduct" or "ethics violation," in their own procedures to address concerns surrounding misinformation and disinformation, FSMB said.

The FSMB is aiming to remind physicians that words matter, that they have a platform, and that misinformation and disinformation -- especially within the context of the pandemic -- can cause harm, said president and CEO Humayun Chaudhry, DO. "I hope that physicians and other licensees get the message," he added.

Vaccine resistance and hesitancy across the country have concerned the group, noted Chaudhry, as have reports of disinformation and misinformation being spread by physicians.

Because of the somewhat stagnant national vaccination rate and spreading Delta variant, Chaudhry is "really concerned" about more mutations and variants emerging, he said, "to the point where we may have a situation in hand where the vaccine isn't even effective." The U.S. is "not there now," he added, but the vaccines are a key piece in preventing that.

"When the state boards get a complaint, they will investigate and if they determine there's grounds for taking action, they will," he said. Such actions could range from reprimanding physicians in a phone call, to license suspension or revocation.

“Our vaccines are working exceptionally well,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tells @wolfblitzer. “They continue to work well for Delta, with regard to severe illness and death – they prevent it. But what they can't do anymore is prevent transmission." pic.twitter.com/s83YyBQqeh

— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) August 5, 2021

"95% of the severe patients are vaccinated".
"85-90% of the hospitalizations are in Fully vaccinated people."
"We are opening more and more COVID wards."
"The effectiveness of the vaccine is waning/fading out"

(Dr. Kobi Haviv, earlier today on Chanel 13 @newsisrael13 ) pic.twitter.com/SpLZewiRpQ

— Ran Israeli (@RanIsraeli) August 5, 2021

I got a 12 hour suspension in June for saying this pic.twitter.com/prODIooy95

— Dr. Benjamin Braddock (@GraduatedBen) July 30, 2021

Continuing to push universal vaccination is reasonably likely to drive development of a "supervirus" variant that will be completely resistant to spike antigen-driven vaccine immune responses. Universal vaccination- bad policy based on naive understanding of viral evolution.

— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) August 7, 2021

They need to stop just reacting based on naive biases and to start actually thinking about long term tactics and strategy that benefits world health (and well established medical ethics principles).

— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) August 7, 2021