CNN, November 2021
A Texas hospital says it has suspended the privileges of a doctor who spread misinformation about Covid-19 on her social media. Dr. Mary Bowden, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Houston Methodist Hospital, posted “harmful” and “dangerous misinformation” about Covid-19 and its treatments, according to the hospital. The doctor was a recent addition to Houston Methodist’s medical staff and used her social media to “express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments,” Houston Methodist said in a statement on Twitter. “Her privileges have been suspended,” a spokesperson for the hospital told CNN. Bowden’s attorney Steven Mitby said the doctor has treated “more than 2,000 patients with Covid-19″ at her private practice and that none of them have ended up in the hospital.” Her early treatment methods work and are saving lives,” he added.
“Dr. Bowden has the utmost respect for Houston Methodist and is proud of the work she has done along with her colleagues at Houston Methodist.”Bowden’s Twitter account shows a series of tweets praising the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Food and Drug Administration have cautioned people against using the drug to treat Covid-19, CNN has reported. Ivermectin is used to treat parasites such as worms and lice in humans and it is also used by veterinarians to de-worm large animals. The CDC warned about a sharp increase in reports of severe illness caused by the drug to poison centers.
