'Be Alert For Ectopic Pregnancy After Self-Managed Abortion'

 Clinicians in the emergency department (ED) and primary care settings should be prepared to spot complications of self-managed abortion, according to a case report.

A patient who had attempted self-managed abortion presented to the ED with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy that went undetected, reported Isabel Beshar, MD, of Stanford University in California, and colleagues.

They explained in a correspondence to the New England Journal of Medicineopens in a new tab or window that the 22-year-old patient was just over 5 weeks pregnant when she presented to the ED with severe abdominal pain 6 days after taking the abortion medications mifepristone (Mifeprex) and misoprostol. The patient had no prior births.

ED physicians initially performed a pelvic ultrasound, which showed that the patient had an empty uterus and small-volume intra-abdominal bleeding. Because of the patient's history of medication abortion, clinicians presumed that the pregnancy was terminated and that the patient's condition was due to a hemorrhagic cyst rupture.

But another 6 days later, the patient returned to the ED with even more pain. A diagnostic laparoscopy revealed that the patient had a ruptured right tubal ectopic pregnancy that was removed without further complications.

Many states have restricted abortion since the Supreme Court ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organizationopens in a new tab or window, with at least 13 states banning most of the procedures entirelyopens in a new tab or window. Increased abortion restrictions are pushing many patients to self-managed abortion, Beshar told MedPage Today.

Initial evidence shows that self-managed abortion, defined as any action taken to end a pregnancy outside of the formal healthcare system and including the use of abortion medications, has become more common since the Dobbs decision. Daily requests to Aid Access -- an online abortion pill provider -- jumped from an average of 80 requests a day before the Supreme Court ruling to more than 200 after the decisionopens in a new tab or window came down last Juneopens in a new tab or window, a recent study found.

"Looking ahead, more people will opt to manage their pregnancies outside of the formal medical system," Beshar said in an email. "The healthcare system has not yet adjusted to this paradigm shift, and this case reflects the current uncertainty around management."

Beshar added that some people in states that restrict abortion care may not feel comfortable revealing their decision to self-manage, due to "legitimate fear of criminalization." She said that providers should consider obtaining an ultrasound and assess beta human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels for women presenting with a history of medication abortion, or even those with a positive pregnancy test and pain. "Above all, providers should maintain patient confidentiality and trust," she added.

Beshar and colleagues stated in the report that clinicians should have increased concerns of ectopic pregnancy in patients with a recent medical abortion who:

• Do not have prior confirmation of intrauterine pregnancy
• Had a previous ectopic pregnancy or tubal surgery
• Have an intrauterine device
• Have an ultrasound showing abdominal free fluid

Daniel Grossman, MD, director of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, was not involved with this case report, but told MedPage Today that as patients present for follow-up care in EDs and primary care settings after attempting to end their pregnancies, it's "important that clinicians know what's normal after medication abortion."

Symptoms such as severe abdominal pain days after a termination can be a red flag for clinicians that patients may need follow-up care, including hCG tests to confirm termination, Grossman said.

"We always have to be alert to someone having an ectopic pregnancy if they have not had a prior confirmation of intrauterine pregnancy," he added. Grossman encouraged providers to ask patients who present with abnormal symptoms if they've had a prior ultrasound to confirm their pregnancy.

Ectopic pregnancy is a "rare, but very serious complication" of pregnancy that is not limited to patients seeking abortion care, Grossman said. The incidence of ectopic pregnancy among patients seeking abortion care is very low, approximately 0.07 per 1,000, Beshar's group noted. But they added that despite the low risk, ruptured ectopic pregnancy remains an important cause of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality that clinicians should be aware about.

"While self-managed abortion has been shown to be safe and effective, it does not include some of the same safety checks for rare, but potentially serious, complications such as ectopic pregnancy," Beshar said. "Healthcare providers caring for people after a self-managed abortion should keep in mind these small risks."

Disclosures

Beshar and co-authors disclosed no relationships with industry.

Primary Source

New England Journal of Medicine

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowBeshar I, et al "Discovery of an ectopic pregnancy after attempted self-managed abortion" N Engl J Med 2023; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2214213.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/abortion/102689

XBB Variant Up to 21 Times More Evasive to Vaccine Antibodies Than BA.5

 Omicron subvariants BQ.1.1 and XBB.1 were more effective at escaping neutralizing antibodies compared with the BA.5 variant following both monovalent and bivalent mRNA boosters, new data suggested.

In 15 participants who had received a monovalent mRNA booster in 2022, neutralizing antibody titers against BA.5 were seven times higher than those for BQ.1.1, and 17 times higher than those for XBB.1, reported Dan Barouch, MD, PhD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues.

In 18 participants who had received a bivalent mRNA booster, neutralizing antibody titers against BA.5 were seven times higher versus those for BQ.1.1, and 21 times higher versus those for XBB.1, they noted in a correspondence published in the New England Journal of Medicine

opens in a new tab or window (NEJM).

Median antibody titers to BA.5 were 2,829 and 3,693 with the monovalent and bivalent boosters, respectively, and 170 and 175 to the XBB.1 strain.

Barouch and team also looked at neutralizing antibody titers from 16 participants who received a monovalent vaccine in 2021, with neutralizing antibody titers three times higher for BA.5 versus BQ.1.1 and eight times higher versus XBB.1.

"These findings suggest that the BQ.1.1 and XBB.1 variants may reduce the efficacy of current mRNA vaccines and that vaccine protection against severe disease with these variants may depend on CD8 T-cell responses," they wrote.

The researchers noted that participants' background immunity likely played a part in the 2022 monovalent booster results.

"The higher neutralizing antibody titers against Omicron variants after monovalent mRNA boosting in the 2022 cohort than in the 2021 cohort probably reflect the greater numbers of vaccine doses and infections in the 2022 cohort," they wrote.

Omicron variants, including the BA.4 sublineage BA.4.6, the BA.5 sublineages BF.7 and BQ.1.1, the BA.2 sublineage BA.2.75.2, and the BA.2 lineage recombinant XBB.1 have the R346T mutation in the spike protein. However, despite this similarity, the difference in the variants' ability to evade neutralizing antibodies induced by vaccination and infection has been unclear.

"The incorporation of the R346T mutation into multiple new SARS-CoV-2 variants suggests convergent evolution," Barouch and team wrote.

For this study, the researchers assessed neutralizing antibody titers from 16 participants who had received the monovalent Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA booster in 2021. Those with a history of infection were excluded from this group.

They also evaluated neutralizing antibody titers from 15 participants who had received a monovalent mRNA booster in 2022 and 18 participants who had received a bivalent mRNA booster in 2022, most of whom had received three previous doses of vaccine. Of these groups, 33% had a documented SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection, but the researchers suspected that a majority may have in fact been previously infected.

Among the 2021, 2022 monovalent, and 2022 bivalent groups, median ages were 34, 50, and 42, respectively, and 94%, 87%, and 61% were women. Ethnicity was reported as non-Hispanic in 88%, 93%, and 94% of participants, respectively. The groups were 20 days, 32 days, and 21 days from their last vaccine, respectively.

In a recent audio interview published on the NEJM'sopens in a new tab or window website, NEJM Editor-in-Chief Eric J. Rubin, MD, PhD, Lindsey R. Baden, MD, and Stephen Morrissey, PhD, all of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, discussed the evolution of the new variants.

"The bad news is that these variants are relatively poorly neutralized by serum derived from people who've been vaccinated and/or previously infected," Rubin said. "On a somewhat more positive note, while there certainly has been an increase in COVID-related hospital admissions recently, this seems to be driven largely by the increase in the number of total cases in the community rather than worsened disease caused by XBB and these other variants; however, this is really still anecdotal rather than systematic data."

Lindsey agreed, adding, "I do suspect that it's not going to be random and evenly distributed across communities with different variants, but always new variants will emerge, and those which have advantages will then dominate and spread widely, which I think XBB is doing as an example of some degree of immune evasion, allowing it to be successful in communities with high levels of hybrid immunity."

Disclosures

Barouch reported relationships with Alkermes, Avidea, BARDA, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Celsion, CureVac, DARPA, Gilead, the Henry Jackson Foundation, Intima Biosciences, Janssen, Laronde, Legend Biotech, Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness, Meissa, MRC, the Musk Foundation, NIH, Pfizer, Pharm-Olam, Ragon Institute, Regeneron, Sanofi Pasteur, SQZ Biotech, Sterne Kessler, Vector Sciences, and Zentalis.

A co-author reported grants and contracts with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Primary Source

New England Journal of Medicine

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowBarouch DH, et al "Substantial neutralization escape by SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants BQ.1.1 and XBB.1" N Engl J Med 2023; DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2214314.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/102690

AI Passes U.S. Medical Licensing Exam

 Two artificial intelligence (AI) programs -- including ChatGPT -- have passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), according to two recent papers.

The papers highlighted different approaches to using large language models to take the USMLE, which is comprised of three exams: Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3.

ChatGPTopens in a new tab or window is an artificial intelligence (AI) search tool that mimics long-form writing based on prompts from human users. It was developed by OpenAI, and became popular after several social media posts showed potential uses for the tool in clinical practice, often with mixed resultsopens in a new tab or window.

The first paper, published on medRxiv

opens in a new tab or window in December, investigated ChatGPT's performance on the USMLE without any special training or reinforcement prior to the exams. According to Victor Tseng, MD, of Ansible Health in Mountain View, California, and colleagues, the results showed "new and surprising evidence" that this AI tool was up to the challenge.

Tseng and team noted that ChatGPT was able to perform at >50% accuracy across all of the exams, and even achieved 60% in most of their analyses. While the USMLE passing threshold does vary between years, the authors said that passing is approximately 60% most years.

"ChatGPT performed at or near the passing threshold for all three exams without any specialized training or reinforcement," they wrote, noting that the tool was able to demonstrate "a high level of concordance and insight in its explanations."

"These results suggest that large language models may have the potential to assist with medical education, and potentially, clinical decision-making," they concluded.

The second paper, published on arXiv

opens in a new tab or window, also in December, evaluated the performance of another large language model, Flan-PaLM, on the USMLE. The key difference between the two models was that this model was heavily modified to prepare for the exams, using a collection of medical question-answering databases called the MultiMedQA, explained Vivek Natarajan, an AI researcher, and colleagues.

Flan-PaLM achieved 67.6% accuracy in answering the USMLE questions, which was about 17 percentage points higher than the previous best performance conducted using PubMed GPT.

Natarajan and team concluded that large language models "present a significant opportunity to rethink the development of medical AI and make it easier, safer and more equitable to use."

ChatGPT, along with other AI programs, have been showing up as the subject -- and sometimes as the co-author -- of new research papers focused on testing the technology's usefulness in medicine.

Of course, healthcare professionals have also expressed concerns over these developments, especially when ChatGPT is being listed as an author on research papers. A recent article from Natureopens in a new tab or window highlighted the uneasiness from would-be colleagues and co-authors of the emerging technology.

One objection to the use of AI programs in research was based on whether they can be truly capable of making meaningful scholarly contributions to a paper, while another objection emphasized that AI tools can't consent to be a co-author in the first place.

The editor of one of the papersopens in a new tab or window that listed ChatGPT as an author said it was an error that would be corrected, according to the Nature article. Still, researchers have published several papers now touting these AI programs as useful tools in medical education, research, and even clinical decision making.

Natarajan and colleagues concluded in their paper that large language models could become a beneficial tool in medicine, but their first hope was that their findings would "spark further conversations and collaborations between patients, consumers, AI researchers, clinicians, social scientists, ethicists, policymakers and other interested people in order to responsibly translate these early research findings to improve healthcare."

Primary Source

medRxiv

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowKung TH, et al "Performance of ChatGPT on USMLE: potential for AI-assisted medical education using large language models" medRxiv 2022; DOI: 10.1101/2022.12.19.22283643.

Secondary Source

arXiv

Source Reference: opens in a new tab or windowSinghal K, et al "Large language models encode clinical knowledge" arXiv 2022; DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2212.13138.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/102705

Medical Board Takes Action Against Ivermectin Prescribing Doc

 An Idaho pathologist who previously came under fire

opens in a new tab or window for prescribing ivermectin to COVID-19 patients and spreading falsities about vaccines, is facing disciplinary actionopens in a new tab or window by the Medical Commission in Washington state, where he is also licensed to practice.

Ryan Cole, MD, is said to have made "numerous false and misleading statements" during public presentations on the pandemic, COVID vaccines, the use of ivermectin to treat COVID, and the effectiveness of masks, according to a statement of chargesopens in a new tab or window issued by the Washington Medical Commission earlier this month. He also allegedly provided negligent care to a number of patients in the prevention or treatment of COVID.

"Due to their specialized knowledge and training, licensed physicians possess a high degree of public trust," the commission wrote in the statement. "That public trust is essential to effective delivery of medical care. Knowingly false statements or those made in reckless disregard for the truth, such as the medical disinformation statements by respondent ... erode the public's trust in physicians and their medical treatment and advice, and thereby injure public health."

Specifically, at all times relevant to the case, Cole, an anatomical and clinical pathologist, ran an independent medical laboratory that he owns, provided direct care to patients via telemedicine through the website MyFreeDoctor.com, and spoke at public and private forums, as well as on news shows and podcasts, the statement noted.

According to the commission, since March 2021, Cole is said to have made false and misleading comments during his presentations, including, "Children survive [COVID-19] at a hundred percent," and "A hundred percent of world [ivermectin] trials have shown benefit."

Other public statements Cole is said to have made include that the COVID vaccine is "an experimental biological gene therapy immune-modulatory injection," in addition to "a fake vaccine ... the clot shot, needle rape."

In a written statement to the Washington Medical Commission dated Feb. 7, 2022, Cole wrote that he had not advised patients or the general public to not get the COVID vaccine, contrary to other remarks included in the statement of charges.

As for the allegations of negligent patient care, the statement included descriptions of telemedicine provided in June and July 2021 to four unnamed patients.

"For all of these patients, respondent prescribed medications that are not indicated for a COVID-19 infection, failed to properly document adequate justification for the treatment in the medical record, failed to take a history or perform a physical examination, and failed to obtain appropriate informed consent," the commission wrote. "Respondent also provided inadequate opportunity for follow-up care, treated patients beyond his competency level, and did not advise patients about standard treatment guidelines and preventative measures."

The Idaho Capital Sun reported that Cole has until the end of the month

opens in a new tab or window to respond to the statement of charges, and that the physician has previously maintained that he did not violate standardsopens in a new tab or window while treating patients for COVID via telemedicine.

The news outlet further noted that Cole serves as the CEO of his laboratory, Cole Diagnostics, located in Garden City, Idaho, and is currently licensed by the Idaho Board of Medicine, as well as medical boards in several other states.

A search of the Idaho Board of Medicine's online portal showed no action against his license there.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/102702

iTeos: Big Business Updates and Clinical Development Plans

  2023 will produce significant advances for both anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody EOS-448/GSK4428859A and adenosine A2A receptor antagonist inupadenant

- Eleven clinical trials planned or ongoing against multiple tumor types, across three pipeline programs

- EOS-984, a first-in-class program targeting a new mechanism of action in the adenosine pathway, expected to enter clinical studies mid-2023

- Cash balance of $752MM as of September 30, 2022, expected to provide runway into 2026 through multiple inflection points across our portfolio

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/iteos-provides-business-updates-clinical-120000559.html

Cal. Teen Begs City Council To "Protect Women" After Encountering Naked Man In YMCA Locker-Room

 by Jackson Elliott via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Teenager Rebecca Phillips stepped out from her post-workout shower in the YMCA locker room and gasped.

A naked man was standing in the women’s dressing area of the Cameron Family YMCA in Santee, California.

“I immediately went back into the shower, terrified, and hid behind their flimsy excuse for a curtain until he was gone,” Phillips said during the public comment period of a Santee City Council meeting on Jan. 11.

“I ran into a bathroom stall to change as quickly as I could, organizing my thoughts to share with the people at the front desk.”

Phillips, 17, has a job at a local restaurant, and often works out by swimming after finishing her shift, she said.

Activists show support for transgender people on the steps of City Hall in New York on Oct. 24, 2018. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

When she raised concerns about the locker room incident, she said the YMCA’s employees were quick to defend the man, who claims to be a woman.

“I was made to feel as though I had done something wrong when I talked to people at the YMCA,” Phillips told city council members in a video reviewed by The Epoch Times. “Somehow, the indecent exposure of a male to a female minor was an inconvenience to them.”

She said the YMCA told her that, in California, any man who is not a registered sex offender can shower naked with women.

“As long as you are not a red flag on Megan’s Law, the California sex offender registry, a grown male can shower alongside a teenage girl at your YMCA location in Santee,” she said.

According to Section 51 of the California Civil Code, naked men have a right to the women’s locker room, if they claim womanhood.

“All persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status, are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever,” the law reads.

Protecting the Public

During her exchange with YMCA employees, Phillips said her thoughts kept turning to her 5-year-old sister.

“This is the YMCA, where hundreds of children spend their summer afternoons in child-care camps,” she said. “This is the YMCA, where my little sister took gymnastics lessons. The locker room was supposed to be her safe haven to gossip with her friends, and shower, and change.

“When I asked the YMCA management what their policy was regarding transgenders, they confirmed that the man I saw was, indeed, allowed to shower wherever he pleased.”

Phillips’ father called the Santee Sheriff’s Station, she said, and an official there advised that she should never shower at the YMCA again.

Then, her father called the YMCA, but wasn’t allowed to speak to the manager, she said. He eventually received a call from an official with the YMCA of San Diego County, she added.

“She informed my dad that I was not in any danger at the time of the incident—that I was safe,” Phillips said.

Phillips asked the city council whether an underage girl could ever be “safe” in a room with a naked man.

“I’m assuming all of you either have a wife, a sister, daughters, or granddaughters, or are a woman yourself,” she said.

“Could you knowingly send an underage girl into a room where there was a naked male and say that she was not in danger? That she was safe? Or more importantly, that this was right?”

Two days after Phillips’ testimony, a spokesman for the YMCA told the local KUSI News that the YMCA is “committed to diversity, equity, inclusion.” The YMCA did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times.

Pro-LGBT marchers stroll through Orlando, Fla., during a Pride Parade on October 15, 2022. (Giorgio Viera/Getty Images)

On Jan. 16, the YMCA issued a press release that included an apology to Phillips, KUSI News reported.

“The YMCA of San Diego County is a cornerstone of our community, positively impacting the lives of thousands of youths, adults, seniors, and families that rely on us daily,” the statement read. It added that staffers “want to ensure everyone feels both welcome and safe at our Y.

“We understand that the minor involved felt hurt and frustrated, and we wholeheartedly apologize for not providing her with the level of support she deserves. We take great care in fostering a safe, respectful, and supportive atmosphere so everyone can feel comfortable. We are committed to treating every member with dignity and protection and will continue striving towards that goal.”

The organization touted a “stellar reputation and proven record of protecting and safeguarding children throughout our 150+ years of history,” and said, “every YMCA member and employee goes through the National Sex Offender Registry daily, and each location and program operates above and beyond California and national Child Protection laws.”

The prepared statement went on to say that people “of all ages, races, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, gender expression, abilities, sexual orientation, or financial circumstances” are welcomed and valued at the YMCA.

The facility operates in accordance with California law, “which gives people the right to access the locker rooms, changing rooms, and bathrooms that align with their gender identity,” the statement read.

Also, the facility, the statement continued, provides a “private, gender-neutral restroom/shower for members who prefer a private space.” And “as part of our commitment to continuously improve, we are reviewing locker room floorplans across all facilities,” to help ensure access to additional privacy “if desired and needed.”

Privacy’s Future

Both Republicans and Democrats told her they were disgusted that a naked man could tour a women’s locker room, proving that the issue is not a partisan one, Phillips said.

“The fact that we are now tailoring our privacy policies and bathroom laws around transgenders, ignoring the blatant threat to safety that this poses, is obscene,” she said. “The safety of children and girls is on the chopping block.”

According to a June 2022 survey by the Pew Research Center, about 5 percent of young adults say they are transgender or nonbinary.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/california-teen-begs-city-council-protect-women-after-encountering-naked-man-ymca-locker

DeSantis Seeks To Make Permanent Protections From COVID Mandates

 by Dan M. Berger via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis on Jan.17 said he’d seek to make permanent the state’s pioneering protections against COVID mask and vaccine mandates, and back physicians’ free speech.

Speaking in Panama City Beach, DeSantis said he’d introduce legislation to carry that out in Florida’s upcoming legislative session. Earlier state-mandated measures were temporary and will expire on July 1, he said.

“We want to make sure our state remains the freest state in these United States,” DeSantis said.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo. (York Du/The Epoch Times)

The new legislation—likely to pass since Republicans control both houses of the legislature—will permanently prohibit COVID vaccine passports, COVID vaccine and mask mandates in schools, masking requirements in businesses, and employers hiring or firing based on COVID vaccination status.

It will further protect doctors’ First Amendment rights so that they won’t lose their jobs if they dissent from medical orthodoxy, and defend medical professionals from discrimination based on their religious views.

“When the world lost its mind, Florida was a refuge of sanity, serving strongly as freedom’s linchpin,” said DeSantis. “These measures will ensure Florida remains this way and will provide landmark protections for free speech for medical practitioners.”

State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said he’d witnessed “accomplished scientists” threatened for holding unorthodox views.

He reminded the crowd that much of the conventional wisdom dispensed by the medical establishment had proven false over the past two years.

“All medical professionals should be encouraged to engage in scientific discourse without fearing for their livelihoods or their careers.”

DeSantis reiterated the actions he and Ladapo took early in the pandemic and decried the approaches taken in some other states and by the federal government.

He said that babies in Florida were never required to get vaccinated, and he credited Ladapo.

People visit Clearwater Beach after Governor Ron DeSantis opened Florida beaches on May 4, 2020, easing restrictions put in place to contain COVID-19. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

“There’s no evidence backing up the need or desirability to jab these kids. What he’s doing is he’s bucking the consensus, not a very well-founded consensus, but it is the consensus.

“Certainly, it’s what Big Pharma wants, and so that’s why a lot of our practitioners fell in line. But Joe Ladapo has been willing to stand up and say, ‘You know what, that’s not justified based on the evidence.'”

Americans saw their medical institutions, at the federal and state level, act politically, DeSantis said. Florida has been attempting to follow the evidence, as scientists should.

“When you go away from evidence-based medicine, and you start embracing ideology, you start to do things that aren’t in the public’s interest,” DeSantis said.

“And if you think about our medical establishment, from [Dr. Anthony] Fauci on down over the last three years, you know they were wrong. About lockdown. They were wrong about mask mandates. They were wrong about school closures. They were wrong about mRNA shots. They were wrong about sports and vaccine mandates, and it really goes on and on,” he said.

“The physicians who were speaking out against some of these things, they were really treated very poorly.”

Workplace Protections

He said their freedom to speak and treat patients is now being highlighted again in controversies about sex-change operations in children.

“That is something that is supported by a lot of medical elites in the United States. It’s not supported by most of the European medical community because they’re not necessarily partisan in their outlook.”

Workplace protections are essential, DeSantis said. “No one should have to choose between a job they need and a shot they don’t want.”

He listed various areas where the protections come into play. Gym owners in Broward County were threatened with jail if they didn’t enforce mask mandates until the state stepped in.

The federal government has resumed efforts, in federal court in Miami, to require masking on commercial flights.

He said that not wearing a mask and being able to breathe fresh air should be deemed a civil right.

Following DeSantis and Ladapo onto the podium were Florida doctors who addressed the need for medical freedom, and two mothers who spoke about their families’ travails.

‘What Is Misinformation?’

Dr. Tim Boyett said vaccine mandates were brought in because authorities originally believed the vaccines were safe and effective, that they would reduce transmission significantly, and because there was no effective outpatient early treatment protocol.

“Since then, evidence has amassed showing that none of these three presumptions is true,” Boyett, a radiologist in Gulf Breeze, said.

His practice has treated 160 acute COVID patients; none died, and only one was hospitalized. He had natural immunity, having already had the disease. He didn’t want the vaccine and applied for a religious exemption but could not get one.

Dr. Jon Ward, a Panama City dermatologist, said, “Social media is the new town square. And if you showed up to that town square and said masks don’t work, and they never in the history of medical science [have been] shown to stop the spread of a respiratory virus, you are put in lockup.

“If you wanted to say that young people are at very low risk from any ill effects from COVID, but new mRNA shots have real risks with serious complications, you are labeled a spreader of misinformation.”

“What is misinformation?” Ward said. “And who gets to decide what misinformation is? Time and again, we’ve seen that yesterday’s medical misinformation is today’s medical facts.”

“Governor DeSantis supports the strongest free speech protections for physicians in America,” he said.

Bedridden at 36

Dedra Long, a surgical technician and mother of two who walked up to the podium with a cane, said she was debating whether to get the vaccine. Getting a new job ended her debate; the new position required it.

“My life changed with my second dose of Pfizer,” Long said. She suffered facial paralysis, body weakness, stuttering, and slurred speech. “My arms and legs began to jump and jerk and felt like they were on fire all the time.”

Long had extreme fatigue, tremors, and spasms, and couldn’t drive her children to school or go to their soccer games.

“I was basically bedridden at 36. I am now 14 months into this nightmare, and I still cannot do normal things like clean my house or go on a walk with my family. Instead of taking care of my children, they now help take care of me.

“And this is the worst punishment of all: Doctors still have no clue how to help. I face the real trauma of being gaslighted and dismissed with every new appointment. When I cry out for help online, I am silenced. I got the jab to keep my job, and I can no longer work.”

Lauren Phillips, a mother of four who said she’s expecting a fifth child, talked about her family’s trials involving school.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/desantis-seeks-make-permanent-protections-covid-mandates