California Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) has introduced a bill, AB-2098, aimed at stopping the spread of “COVID-19 misinformation” by licensed physicians and surgeons. Under the measure, doctors would be subject to disciplinary actions by the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California if they do not subscribe to the media-approved COVID narrative. But California medical professionals are sounding the alarm on the bill and are preparing for a fight.
“The idea that they’re going to come after physicians that spread misinformation, without defining what misinformation is, [is] frightening,” Physician Dr. Jeff Barke told The Epoch Times.
According to the bill, “misinformation” is the spread of information that denies the “safety” of vaccines.
“The spread of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has weakened public confidence and placed lives at serious risks,” the legislation reads, claiming that “major news outlets” have reported “inaccurate” and “dangerous” information about the vaccines.
The bill would label the dissemination of the “misinformation” as “unprofessional conduct.”
Dr. Barke, according to The Epoch Times, is one of the few healthcare professionals in California to openly challenge the “science” behind masks and vaccines and advocate for individual medical freedom. He has been an outspoken critic of the mandates, particularly those that apply to children.
Dr. Barke warns this latest censorship attempt will put scientific studies at risk and force any remaining critic of the government-approved COVID response into compliance.
“Science is not about consensus. It’s not about agreement. It’s about sharing and debating ideas,” Barke said. “That sharing and debating ideas has not been allowed during the COVID crisis.”
Barke is not alone. Mark McDonald, a private-practice psychiatrist in Los Angeles, has also been outspoken against COVID-19 mandates and says he will continue to be. With the new bill lingering overhead as a threat against his free speech, McDonald vows to fight through the courts if necessary.
“If they want to challenge me, then I’ll take them to court,” Dr. McDonald told The Epoch Times. “We’re going into year three of this nonsense and I think when you stand up and you don’t give an inch, in most cases, the bullies are actually cowards, and they will collapse.”
While he is tempted to leave California to avoid losing his license, McDonald told The Epoch Times he would rather fight for what is right.
“As long as there is something to fight for, you should stay where you are and fight,” McDonald said. “I think California still has some good left in it. Not much, but it still has some good and as long as something can be salvaged, I think those who are fighters need to stay and fight.”
Assembly Bill 2098 is just one effort proposed in California to stifle the science that disproves the media- and government-approved COVID responses.
Senate Bill 1018, introduced at the same time as AB 2098, would require websites to publicly report how their algorithms work and share their data with researchers, The Center Square reported.
Introduced by Assemblyman Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), SB 1018 will supposedly increase website transparency and aims to address “the amplification of misinformation and disinformation on online platforms,” according to Pan.
“Transparency will allow the public to make informed decisions, and lawmakers and researchers need this necessary information so we can hold online platforms accountable and also set standards,” Pan said in a statement.
Likewise, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced earlier this month that state officials have requested support from lawmakers to create a new department to push back against COVID “misinformation.” “We will continue to call it out,” Newsom said.
Yet, there seems to be more evidence that those who tout vaccine safety and effectiveness are the ones who are guilty of misinformation.
According to the board member of a large German health-insurance company, BKK ProVita, the side effects of COVID vaccines are significantly higher than have been reported.
BKK Board Member Andreas Schöfbeck said, in a report by WELT, “According to our calculations, we consider 400,000 visits to the doctor by our policyholders because of vaccination complications to be realistic to this day. Extrapolated to the total population, this value would be three million.”
Americans who have been following the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) closely are keenly aware of the prevalence of COVID vaccine side effects. VAERS numbers through February 11 reveal nearly 24,000 deaths, more than 130,000 hospitalizations, more than 27,000 life-threatening incidents, among many more reactions. The data on children is also frightening, with more than 34,000 adverse events reported.
And according to Steve Kirsch, executive director of the COVID-19 Early Treatment Fund, vaccine injuries are underreported in VAERS by a factor of 41, a sentiment echoed by Jessica Rose, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Institute for Pure and Applied Knowledge in Israel and a computational biologist with degrees in molecular biological and biochemistry. Rose’s estimate is a more-conservative 31.
