Hydroxychloroquine had been restricted in a variety of ways, determined by each state, since early 2020. It had also been restricted by certain manufacturers and pharmacy chains in 2020. Suddenly, in September 2021, it too became considerably harder than it already was to obtain.
3. In late August, CDC sent out a message on its emergency network about ivermectin, but the urgent warning contained only 2 examples of anyone having a problem with the drug: one person overdosed on an animal version and one overdosed on ivermectin bought on the internet (CDC 2021). This should not have been news. However, pharmacists and doctors read between the lines and knew this was code for "verboten." Almost all stopped prescribing and dispensing ivermectin at that time. It should be of interest to everyone that our health agencies now speak in coded messages to doctors and pharmacies, presumably to avoid putting their threats on paper and being accountable for them. What a way for government to do business.
4. Also last August, various "nonprofit" medical organizations started issuing warnings, in concert, regarding doctors prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine, and spreading misinformation, especially about COVID vaccines. These organizations included the Federation of State Medical Boards, the American Medical Association, the American Pharmacy Association, and several specialty Boards. Here is an example of the AMA's language:
" Spreading Falsehoods
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to spawn falsehoods that are spread by a whole host of people such as political leaders, media figures, internet influencers, and even some health professionals—including by licensed physicians.
The words and actions of this last group may well be the most egregious of all because they undermine the trust at the center of the patient-physician relationship, and because they are directly responsible for people’s health. A handful of doctors spreading disinformation have fostered belief in scientifically unvalidated and potentially dangerous “cures” for COVID-19 while increasing vaccine hesitancy and driving the politicization of the pandemic to new heights, threatening the public health countermeasures taken to end it (Harmon 2021).”
These organizations have told doctors they could lose their licenses or board certifications for such "crimes." Mind you, none of these so-called nonprofit organizations has any regulatory authority. Nor do I believe they have any authority to claw back a Board Certification. They were blowing smoke. And they were probably paid to do so. Who paid?
5. Over the course of 3 days at the end of August 2021, national media reported on 4 doctors in 3 states whose Boards were investigating them for the use of ivermectin. In Hawaii, the board really wanted to make an example by going after the state's chief medical officer, who had had the courage to treat COVID patients.
6. The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) is an organization that assists 71 state and territorial medical boards with policies, training, etc. Members pay dues and the organization accepts donations. It has its own foundation, too. Its President earns close to $1,000,000/year, not bad for a backwater administrative job at an organization headquartered in Euless, Texas. After the FSMB instructed its members that misinformation was a crime, somewhere between 8 and 15 of its member boards began to take action. (Media have reported that 8, 12 or 15 boards of its 71 member Boards did so, according to the FSMB, which is closely monitoring the results of its calumny.)
7. On February 7, 2022 the Department of Homeland Security issued its own dire warning about the spread of misinformation, disinformation and a neologism, malinformation (DHS 2022a).
"The United States remains in a heightened threat environment fueled by several factors, including an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis- dis- and mal-information (MDM) introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors. These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence. Mass casualty attacks and other acts of targeted violence conducted by lone offenders and small groups acting in furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances pose an ongoing threat to the nation.”
Thus, it appears that Misinformation and Disinformation have been selected to play an important role in a newly developing narrative, as the Pandemic restrictions and older narrative comes to an end.
8. I presume the majority of the 71 Medical Boards' attorneys knew something about the Constitution, knew that every American has an inalienable right to freedom of speech, and simply ignored the FSMB's exhortation to go after misinformation spreaders. The Maine Board, however, went along.
Three doctors in Maine have recently had their licenses suspended or threatened for writing waivers for COVID vaccines, spreading misinformation, and/or prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine. (All three of which are legal activities for doctors.)
But Boards have broad powers to intervene in the practice of medicine, and their members are shielded from liability as agents of the state. And so they went after a chronic Lyme doctor several years ago, who found, as expected, that it would be too onerous to fight back, and he gave up his license.
Finally, this is what my state (Maine) medical licensing board claims about me:
"The board noted that Ivermectin isn’t Food and Drug Administration “authorized or approved” as a treatment for COVID-19 in the suspension order."
"The board said that her continuing to practice as a physician “constitutes an immediate jeopardy to the health and physical safety of the public who might receive her medical services, and that it is necessary to immediately suspend her ability to practice medicine in order to adequately respond to this risk.”
I am 71 years old, and my medical practice was set up as a service to provide care during the pandemic that was otherwise very hard to get, so everyone could access COVID drugs who wanted them. My fee was $60 per patient for all the COVID care they needed.
I am sure the Board's Executive Director had calculated that given all the above, it would be too expensive for me to challenge the Board's suspension and I would simply surrender my license, since it would probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight the Board's actions in court.
However, I was surprised to find that on the day my license was suspended, there was massive national publicity about my case. The story was on the AP wire, covered from the San Francisco Chronicle to the Miami Herald. And for some reason, it was not behind the usual paywall. The Hill, Newsweek, the Daily Beast and many other publications all ran hit pieces about me.
I gathered that my situation was bigger than just a Maine renegade Medical Board: I had been selected to serve as an example to physicians nationwide who might be prescribing early treatment for COVID.
Once I realized I was to be made an example of, in order to assist with a national fear campaign followed by a purge of doctors who think independently, I decided to fight back. Fortunately, Children's Health Defense is helping with my legal expenses, which is what allows me to mount a strong attack against the bulldozing of free speech, patient autonomy and the doctor-patient relationship. There is a lot riding on the outcome. We have only just begun to fight for medical freedom and the patient's right to receive the medical care of their choosing.