‘Corona memes’? Why does this anti-vaxx California doctor think COVID-19 is a joke?
Doctors and nurses around the country are struggling to handle a surge of COVID-19 patients, but Dr. Bob Sears of Orange County has extra time on his hands.
Sears, a prominent figure in California’s anti-vaccination movement, announced on Facebook last week that his business has been slow due to the coronavirus shutdown. He urged patients to come in for routine annual physicals.
Never mind the fact that most Californians are following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order and avoiding unnecessary appointments. Dr. Sears needs some business.
“I don’t know how it is in other offices, but mine is the quietest and cleanest it’s ever been because we haven’t been hit hard by coronavirus in Orange County yet,” wrote Sears. “No one is coming in sick ... No one in is the waiting room.”
Sounds pleasant. Meanwhile, many other doctors and nurses are working nonstop in horrific conditions to save lives. Many of these heroes are working without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), risking their own health to serve others. Over 79,000 California medical professionals, including retirees, have signed up for the new California Health Corps to help prepare for an expected surge of patients. Others have answered New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plea for medical assistance.
Oh, but it’s smooth sailing for Sears. COVID-19 has killed over 9,500 Americans, but he’s more bored than the Maytag Man.
“Germs freak me out as much as the next guy,” he wrote, suggesting that patients should schedule routine appointments during the shutdown. “Sick germs, that is. I’ll lick any outdoor surface any day without a care.”
“We can swap corona memes on our phones and chat about the world,” he added.
Perhaps Sears’ lack of concern about the virus shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, he’s mostly known for his anti-science fight against life-saving vaccines. In recent years, he has become a leading force in the passionate but misguided anti-vaccine campaigns that have raged in the State Capitol. He has sowed doubts about vaccine safety, and his medical practice has catered to parents seeking to evade vaccination rules, according to the Los Angeles Times.
California’s “anti-vaxx” movement reached a dramatic new low last year after one activist assaulted Sacramento state Sen. Richard Pan, who authored Senate Bill 276 to strengthen vaccination laws. Another anti-vaxx protester hurled menstrual blood at legislators. Vaccine opponents, who favor conspiracy theories, are now “capitalizing on the pandemic,” writes Charlie Warzel in the New York Times.
Sears is just as wrong about COVID-19 as he is about vaccines. While a large percentage of elderly COVID-19 patients have died, the infection also threatens young people. Forty percent of patients sick enough to be hospitalized are between the ages of 20 and 54, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Confirmed victims under age 50 include a 25-year-old pharmacy technician in Los Angeles, a 36-year-old school principal in Brooklyn and a 42-year-old mother of six in Washington State. In Riverside, the virus killed two sheriff’s deputies in their early 50s.
Yet Sears, Facebooking from his safe, sterile offices, wrote: “Elderly and vulnerable and need protection AND Covid is harmless to almost everyone else. Can’t we both protect AND carefully resume society?”
The death toll exposes this statement as false. But Sears appears to believe that it’s fine to put more American lives at risk so he can resume his practice, which caters to the anti-vaxx crowd.
No wonder the Medical Board of California, in 2016, accused Sears of “gross negligence,” “repeated negligent acts” and “failure to maintain adequate and accurate records.” In 2018, the board placed him on probation for 35 months.
State. Sen Pan said the board should do more.
“He’s actively undermining public health and he’s not providing accurate information to his patients or to his public,” said Pan, a doctor, of Sears’ practice. “That’s unprofessional behavior and that warrants removal of a license, but that’s a decision by the Medical Board itself.”
On second thought, maybe California’s coronavirus patients are better off without any assistance from Sears.
When we look back on 2020, we’ll remember the many heroic people who offered to risk their lives to save others from COVID-19. And we’ll remember that Dr. Bob Sears – anti-vaxx icon – offered “corona memes.”
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 5:00 AM.