In June, Sherri Tenpenny, a state-licensed doctor of osteopathic medicine and notorious COVID-19 disinformer, baselessly claimed in a televised, government meeting that COVID-19 vaccines “magnetize” recipients and “interface” with cell towers.
The comment wasn’t an aberration from Tenpenny, who has in the past described vaccines as a tool of “depopulation.” The Ohio State Medical Board, an agency tasked with overseeing discipline and complaints of state physicians, still renewed her license in September as part what it called an “automatic” process of handling renewals.
Her renewal points to a bigger problem at the intersection of politics, mass media and public health: a loud, super minority of physicians has found ways to monetize lies about COVID-19 and vaccines that prevent it, and state medical boards are ill equipped to handle the problem, according to a report released earlier this month by the de Beaumont Foundation.
“During this ongoing public health emergency that has claimed more than 5 million lives globally, a small minority of physicians have exploited the credibility that comes with their medical licenses to disseminate disinformation to the public,” the report states. “Their lies, distortions, and baseless conspiracy theories have caused unnecessary suffering and death that are prolonging the pandemic.”
Only about 21% of state medical boards have taken any disciplinary action against a licensee for disseminating false or misleading health information, according to a survey conducted by the Federation of State Medical Boards. About 2 in 3 boards said they’ve noticed an increase in complaints on the issue. READ MORE
A look at redistricting litigation around the country
BY NICK EVANS
Lawsuits challenging Ohio’s latest political district maps got their day in court earlier this month, and with elections based on those boundaries just a few short months away, the courts have expedited the process. As the judicial process kicks into gear, it’s worth asking — what actually happens if the courts find fault with the maps?
The simple answer is there’s no simple answer. Around the country, courts have come to a variety of solutions based on different kinds of analysis. To get a sense of that diversity we surveyed the court battles during the last decade of redistricting in three different states: North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida. READ MORE
