While studying high-use social media platforms, researchers found 52 American physicians from across a range of medical specialties were spreading misinformation about COVID-19 during the pandemic.
“This study’s findings suggest a need for rigorous evaluation of harm that may be caused by physicians who hold a uniquely trusted position in society,” the researchers reported. “Ethical and legal guidelines for propagation of misinformation are needed.”1
The contact author for the study had not responded to a request for an interview as this report was filed. While some medical boards have acted to suspend the licenses of physicians spreading misinformation, it appears many have escaped consequence.
The authors of an in-depth review of 2,500 medical board licensing documents from all 50 states reported 20 physicians nationally were penalized for complaints related to COVID-19 misinformation between January 2020 and June 2023. About half of those either had their medical license revoked or surrendered it. However, others suffered only minor penalties — or none at all.2
“A Wisconsin doctor in 2021 prescribed ivermectin, typically used to treat parasitic infections, to two COVID-19 patients who later died of the disease,” the report authors noted. “He was fined less than $4,000 — and was free to continue practicing.”
The authors of the misinformation journal article said, “the two most prominent medications promoted were ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, which have been found to not be effective at treating COVID-19 infections in randomized clinical trials.”3,4
They estimated that one-third of the 1.1 million COVID-19 deaths in the United States could have been prevented, underscoring the danger of misinformation. Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics and molecular virology and microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, has estimated that 200,000 people who refused COVID-19 vaccines subsequently died of the disease.5
“Physicians’ propagation of misinformation about COVID-19 on social media and other internet-based platforms has raised professional, public health, and ethical concerns,” researchers reported. “[The physicians] propagated COVID-19 misinformation about vaccines, treatments, and masks on large social media and other online platforms, and many had a wide reach based on number of followers.”1
While this may seem beyond question now, it is well to remember the pandemic was subject to a confluence of events that included sharp political divisions, emerging research that often was published before peer review, and a rapidly evolving virus that was subject to renewed scrutiny at every iteration.
Moreover, the CDC reversed course on some guidelines — sometimes rather quickly — before ultimately apologizing for mishandling the pandemic. A prime example of the latter was the decision (reckless in hindsight) to tell vaccinated people they need no longer wear masks indoors. This idea was left in the smoldering wreckage of the delta variant surge — which, like omicron that followed it, could cause infections in vaccinated individuals.
Save Legitimate Scientific Debate
William Schaffner, MD, a veteran epidemiologist and professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University, is wary of the pendulum swinging too far in the other direction.
“There is room for different points of view interpreting the same scientific data,” Schaffner tells Hospital Employee Health. “This article — at least, as I read it — doesn’t give sufficient credit to this. They have focused on a small group of people, whom they quite reasonably define as purveyors of misinformation. But during this entire COVID period as new information became available, I remember very thoughtful debates about the effectiveness and utility of masks, for example. On some of these issues, there was room for reasonable debate. You have to be very careful of impeding genuine scientific discussion.”
Another example of this legitimate disagreement is when Paul Offit, MD, an internationally recognized vaccine expert, voted against creating the 2022 COVID-19 bivalent booster containing the original Wuhan strain and an omicron component. A member of the vaccine advisory committee for the FDA, Offit said the level of protection the vaccine would provide was questionable and it did not merit recommendation to a broad swath of the population. The vaccine measure passed, but the bivalent vaccine was poorly received, and uptake was low.6
The misinformation article cited questionable claims about both vaccine ineffectiveness and risks. “A common approach included circulating counts of positive case rates by vaccination status, claiming that most positive cases were among vaccinated individuals,” the authors reported. “This claim is technically true but misleading, as many more people are vaccinated, and the proportion of unvaccinated people who are infected is much higher.”1
In terms of risk, the researchers said some physicians made “unfounded claims” on social media that the COVID-19 vaccines caused infertility, irreparable damage to one’s immune system, increased risk of chronic illness for children, and a higher risk of cancer and death.
“Several physicians redistributed news articles with stories of individuals suddenly or mysteriously dying from the vaccine, despite evidence from the CDC confirming that deaths caused by a COVID vaccine were extremely rare (nine deaths for over 600 million doses administered in the U.S. as of January 2023),” the authors reported.
Of the 52 physicians, 42 posted vaccine misinformation, 40 propagated information in more than one category, and 20 posted misinformation on five or more social media platforms.
“Individual health behaviors related to COVID-19 have been attributed to complex social phenomena, including inconsistent recommendations by government entities early in the pandemic, mistrust of the scientific community, political polarization, and unclear or incorrect guidance from other sources,” the authors concluded. “Medical misinformation was propagated long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the internet increases reach and speed of dissemination, potentially exacerbating misinformation consequences during an unparalleled public health threat that has killed more than 7 million people across the globe.”
REFERENCES
- Sule S, DaCosta MC, DeCou E, et al. Communication of COVID-19 misinformation on social media by physicians in the US. JAMA Netw Open 2023;6:e2328928.
- Sun LH, Weber L, Godfrey H. Doctors who put lives at risk with covid misinformation rarely punished. The Washington Post. July 26, 2023.
- Self WH, Semler MW, Leither LM, et al. Effect of hydroxychloroquine on clinical status at 14 days in hospitalized patients with COVID-19: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2020;324:2165-2176.
- Roman YM, Burela PA, Pasupuleti V, et al. Ivermectin for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Infect Dis 2022;74:1022-1029.
- Evans G. Peter Hotez stands against antivaxxers. Hospital Employee Health. August 1, 2023.
- Evans G. Healthcare workers likely will be offered new vaccine. Hospital Employee Health. Sept. 1, 2022.
While studying high-use social media platforms, researchers found 52 American physicians from across a range of medical specialties were spreading misinformation about COVID-19 during the pandemic.
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