California ’s Misguided Effort to Stifle COVID Scientific Discourse

Jeffrey A. SingerOn September 12, the California legislature sent to Governor Newsom ’s deskAB-2098, that “would designate the dissemination [by physicians and surgeons] of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS‐​CoV‑2 coronavirus, or ‘COVID-19,’ as unprofessional conduct,” which means they may be sanctioned or lose their license. The bill defines “misinformation” as “f alse information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.”At first blush, this might seem reasonable. After all, it ’s considered medical malpractice to violate the “standard of care”—the consensus of peer medical professionals regarding the proper way to diagnose and treat specific health conditions. And state licensing boards are charged with enforcing the standard of care, holding licensees accountable for violations.But when dealing with a unique public health emergency, in this case a pandemic caused by a completely novel virus, thereis no standard of care. As should be quite evident nearly 3 years after the virus appeared, the “science” is continuing to evolve—as is the virus.Standard of care requires a length of time of experience with the disease for a true consensus to emerge regarding diagnosis and treatment. Right now we merely have “official” recommendations from government “experts” (which often differ with the government experts inother developed countries) ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs