Doctor who was suspended for promoting ivermectin for COVID-19 quits her position at hospital: 'I have broken free'



Dr. Mary Bowden, the Texas doctor who was suspended from practicing at Houston Methodist Hospital for defending ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment, has resigned from her position at the facility.

What are the details?

Bowden, an otolaryngologist, previously made headlines for taking to her private social media channels to slam vaccine mandates and defend the viability of ivermectin as a possible treatment for COVID-19 patients.

Following her remarks, a spokesperson for Houston Methodist announced her suspension for spreading what it said was "dangerous information" surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and "using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments."

Bowden tweeted Monday night, "I have broken free from Methodist and very much appreciate the flood of support I have received! Sincere thanks to all of you who have reached out with kind words."

According to a Wednesday report from NBC News, a spokesperson for the hospital confirmed that the facility received Bowden's resignation letter.

What else?

Bowden's attorney, Steve Mitby, told the outlet on Monday that the physician is "not peddling disinformation" and as a Stanford University-trained physician has vast experience in treating coronavirus patients.

“She is helping her patients, through a combination of monoclonal antibodies and other drugs, to recover from COVID. Dr. Bowden's proactive treatment has saved lives and prevented hospitalizations," he said. "Dr. Bowden also is not anti-vaccine as she has been falsely portrayed. Dr. Bowden has opposed vaccine mandates, especially when required by the government. That is not the same as opposing vaccines."

Bowden previously told CBS News that she only learned that the hospital suspended her when media outlets began reaching out to her for confirmation on the news.

"No one from Methodist bothered to pick up the phone and talk to me about their concerns," she announced. "I've been very disappointed with how Methodist has handled this."

"I don't consider myself dangerous, and I submitted my letter of resignation to them this morning," Bowden added. "I have been overwhelmed by the positive support I've received from my patients and from people around the world thanking me for standing up for my beliefs. This will not alter my practice and I will continue to treat COVID early and aggressively."

Hospital suspends doctor who defended ivermectin's safety as COVID-19 treatment, criticized vaccine mandates: Guilty of spreading 'dangerous information' that is 'not based in science'



Administrators at Texas' Houston Methodist Hospital have suspended the privileges of a doctor who defended ivermectin's safety as a viable COVID-19 treatment and who was outspoken against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

What are the details?

In a statement on the decision, a spokesperson for the hospital said that Dr. Mary Bowden — an otolaryngologist at the hospital — spread "dangerous misinformation" that was "not based in science" after she spoke out on her personal social media accounts against COVID-19 mandates and defended ivermectin's safety in treating COVID-19.

According to a report from NBC News, Bowden currently no longer "has the power to admit or treat patients at the hospital" as an investigation into her remarks continues.

Bowden — who is not anti-vaccine and is vaccinated in compliance with the facility's requirements — is accused of "using her social media accounts to express her personal and political opinions about the COVID-19 vaccine and treatments."

The outlet reported that as late as Nov. 10, Bowden tweeted, "Ivermectin might not be as deadly as everyone said its as. Speak up!"

She also stated that she believes vaccine mandates are wrong.

Administrators added that Bowden's opinions are "harmful to the community" and "do not reflect reliable medical evidence of the values of Houston Methodist."

'People should have a choice'

Steve Mitby, an attorney for the doctor, told the Washington Post that she has treated more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients.

"Like many Americans, Dr. Bowden believes that people should have a choice and believes that all people, regardless of vaccine status, should have access to the same high quality health care," he told the outlet.

Mitby added that Bowden supports combining monoclonal antibody treatment in conjunction with "certain experimental drug treatments" when treating the majority of COVID-19 patients.

He added, "[Bowden's] early treatment methods work and are saving lives. If America had more doctors like Dr. Bowden, COVID outcomes would be much better."

'I don't consider myself dangerous'

In a statement to the Houston Chronicle, Bowden said that all of her comments are "backed by clinical experience."

She told CBS News that she only learned of her suspension when the Chronicle reached out to her for confirmation.

"No one from Methodist bothered to pick up the phone and talk to me about their concerns," she said. "I've been very disappointed with how Methodist has handled this."

"I don't consider myself dangerous, and I submitted my letter of resignation to them this morning," Bowden added. "I have been overwhelmed by the positive support I've received from my patients and from people around the world thanking me for standing up for my beliefs. This will not alter my practice and I will continue to treat COVID early and aggressively."

What else?

The Post reported that Bowden is embroiled in a second dispute with another Texas hospital that previously declined to prescribe ivermectin to a Tarrant County Sheriff's Office deputy who was hospitalized with COVID-19 last month.

The deputy's wife recently sued the hospital, demanding that the hospital allow Bowden to treat her husband with ivermectin.

"Bowden has used her Twitter account to repeatedly post pictures of medical providers working at that hospital whom she says have declined to give the man the unproven drug," the outlet reported. "Texas Health Huguley Hospital has argued in court documents that prescribing ivermectin to the patient 'is outside of the standard of care.'"

“Even if [the deputy] had a legal right to take ivermectin, there is no authority ... that such a 'right' compels a physician or health care provider to administer it to him," the hospital said in a statement on the case.

Biden slashes distribution of monoclonal antibodies to red states, Marco Rubio reacts: 'This reeks of politics'



The Biden administration is cutting back the supply of monoclonal antibodies, a COVID-19 treatment featuring a lab-engineered protein, in several red states. There has been a backlash to the reduction of the potentially lifesaving treatment, especially in Florida, where monoclonal antibodies are being used the most.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Monday that the agency is taking over the distribution of monoclonal antibodies to states. Previously, the states ordered therapeutics from the federal government.

"HHS will determine the amount of product each state and territory receives on a weekly basis. State and territorial health departments will subsequently identify sites that will receive product and how much," an HHS spokesman told the Washington Post. "This system will help maintain equitable distribution, both geographically and temporally, across the country — providing states and territories with consistent, fairly-distributed supply over the coming weeks."

The policy shift will affect seven red states the most: Florida, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana, which have accounted for 70% of monoclonal antibodies orders, CNN reported.

"Given this reality, we must work to ensure our supply of these life-saving therapies remains available for all states and territories, not just some," an HHS spokesperson said.

Florida has received the most doses of monoclonal antibodies, followed by Texas. Florida received 30,950 doses this week, after the Sunshine State requested 72,000 doses, according to the governor's office. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis established 25 clinics that offer monoclonal antibody treatments; the first was opened on Aug. 12 in Jacksonville. The clinics have administered 90,000 monoclonal antibody doses, according to DeSantis.

DeSantis slammed President Joe Biden for the "abrupt" cut in monoclonal antibodies.

"We are very, very concerned with the Biden administration and the HHS's recent, abrupt, sudden announcement that they are going to dramatically cut the number of monoclonal antibodies that are going to be sent to the state of Florida," DeSantis said during a press conference on Thursday. "There's going to be a huge disruption and patients are going to suffer as a result of this."

"We've been thrown a major curveball here with a really huge cut," DeSantis added. "We're going to make sure we leave no stone unturned. Whoever needs a treatment, we're going to work like hell to get them the treatment."

"Many thousands would have ended up in the hospital, and of course, some of them would have ended up dying, so it has saved lives here in the state of Florida," DeSantis said of the monoclonal antibody treatment.

"The bottom line is this: COVID is a treatable illness. And we have to never go back to the days where particularly high-risk people get infected and were told to just go home and hope they don't get deathly ill," DeSantis declared.

Sen. Marco Rubio blasted the Biden administration for reducing Florida's supply of COVID-19 treatments.

"Antibody treatments aren't a substitute for vaccines But they have prevented thousands of hospitalizations including in breakthrough cases," Rubio wrote on Twitter. "Now in a move that reeks of partisan payback against states like Florida, the Biden administration is rationing these treatments."

"This reeks of politics. This is the Biden administration punishing Florida," Sen. Marco Rubio said in a video. "They're saying to states like Florida, 'Oh yeah, you're not gonna have mandates? You're not gonna do what we want you to do? Well then guess what, we're gonna cut off your antibody treatments and your access to them.'"

Every day it’s something new with these people in the White House The decision to ration antibody treatments prov… https://t.co/uc5nFQmz6z

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) 1631811556.0

The Biden administration has made monoclonal antibody treatments a priority in its "Path out of the Pandemic" plan.

"Monoclonal antibody treatments have been shown to reduce the risk of hospitalization by up to 70% for unvaccinated people at risk of developing severe disease. As hospital systems experience increased COVID-19 cases, many have identified monoclonal antibody treatment as a key tool to improve health outcomes, prevent hospitalizations and reduce the strain on overburdened hospitals," the plan states.

DeSantis noted that 52% of COVID-19 patients who were treated at the Broward monoclonal antibody treatment site had already been vaccinated, and 69% of those treated at the site with monoclonal antibodies were over 65 years old and vaccinated.

With the supply of monoclonal antibodies being cut by more than half by the Biden administration, DeSantis said he would attempt to secure a new monoclonal antibody treatment from another pharmaceutical company – GlaxoSmithKline.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced on Tuesday that the U.S. government had purchased 1.4 million additional doses of its COVID-19 antibody cocktail, which brings the total bought to nearly 3 million doses. Regeneron will supply the upcoming doses between now and the end of January 2022. The monoclonal antibody treatment costs $2,100 per dose, according to Regeneron, which adds up to revenues of $2.9 billion.

FDA approves remdesivir as first COVID-19 treatment



The Food and Drug Administration has officially approved Gilead Sciences' antiviral drug remdesivir for use in treatment of coronavirus, according to Fox Business.

President Donald Trump famously touted the drug — which he took — following his COVID-19 diagnosis.

What are the details?

Gilead Chairman and CEO Daniel O'Day commented on the big announcement, calling the development "incredible."

"Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gilead has worked relentlessly to help find solutions to this global health crisis. It is incredible to be in the position today, less than one year since the earliest case reports of the disease now known as COVID-19, of having an FDA-approved treatment in the U.S. that is available for all appropriate patients in need," they said.

The FDA said that remdesivir is suitable for use on patients age 12 years and older. The antiviral drug should "only be administered in a hospital or in a healthcare setting capable of providing acute care comparable to inpatient hospital care."

On Thursday, the New England Journal of Medicine published results from the biotech company's phase 3 trial, finding faster recovery times for adult treatment. The journal also pointed out that the drug was found to reduce the progression of the illness among severely ill patients who require oxygen therapy as part of their treatment.

CNBC reported that the drug, currently under the brand name Veklury, costs $2,340 for a five-day treatment course for people who are covered by government health programs. The five-day treatment costs $3,120 for U.S. patients with private health insurance.

"In August, the company said it planned to produce more than 2 million treatment courses of remdesivir by the end of the year and anticipated being able to make 'several million more' in 2021, adding it has increased the supply of the drug more than fiftyfold since January. Its manufacturing network now includes more than 40 companies in North America, Europe and Asia," the outlet added.

At the time of this reporting, researchers at Johns Hopkins University estimate that there have been at least 8,411,262 COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and at least 223,059 deaths attributed to the virus in the U.S.