Health

Progressives Applaud Alabama Doctor Who Refuses To Treat Patients Unvaccinated Against COVID-19

(Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Dylan Housman Deputy News Editor
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Some progressives are cheering on an Alabama doctor who said going forward he will refuse to treat patients who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dr. Jason Valentine, a physician at Mobile’s Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health, recently shared he will no longer see patients who aren’t vaccinated against the coronavirus beginning Oct. 1. Valentine said people have no excuse not to be vaccinated against the virus and he doesn’t want to watch people die from it, AL.com reported Tuesday.

“If they asked why, I told them COVID is a miserable way to die and I can’t watch them die like that,” Valentine said. He added that three of his unvaccinated patients had responded to the move by asking him where they could go to get vaccinated: “No conspiracy theories, no excuses. Just where do they go.”

“We do not yet have any great treatments for severe disease, but we do have great prevention with vaccines. Unfortunately, many have declined to take the vaccine, and some end up severely ill or dead,” reads a letter Valentine posted online and will soon send out to his patients. “I cannot and will not force anyone to take the vaccine, but I also cannot continue to watch my patients suffer and die from an eminently preventable disease.”

Only 45% of adults in Alabama are fully vaccinated, one of the lowest rates in America. The state is experiencing a two-week surge of 33% in cases, 59% in hospitalizations and 228% in deaths. (RELATED: DC Health Department Suggests Kids Still Go To School If They’re Vomiting Or Have Diarrhea)

Some progressives applauded Valentine’s decision to deny patients care based on their vaccination status. “RT IF YOU THINK EVERY DOCTOR SHOULD FOLLOW HIS LEAD!” tweeted the popular Occupy Democrats Twitter account. Nearly 14,000 people retweeted that tweet. Another major progressive account, @teapainUSA, tweeted the story with the caption “The Good Doctor” to more than 700,000 followers.

Several blue checkmarks weighed in as well. “This is correct. It’s time to conserve resources and stop allowing people to avoid the consequences of their actions,” said executive producer of the popular sitcom “Big Bang Theory” Bill Prady. Another Hollywood figure, actress Aimee Carrero, agreed: “Good. This doctor does not run an ER—he runs a *private* practice and is well within his rights to protect his vaccinated patients and staff.”

“I found a new MD Everyone ! Here’s my Medical Hero Dr. Jason Valentine,” tweeted another verified user. Former New York Times investigative reporter Nina Bernstein added to the lovefest too, tweeting the story and saying “Good for him!” (RELATED: Biden Admin To Require Nursing Home Staff To Be Vaccinated For Continued Medicaid, Medicare Funding)

Some other doctors and medical ethicists have taken a different stance. “Doctors who refuse to treat and abandon their unvaccinated patients have lost their professional and ethical bearings,” tweeted Dr. Aaron Kheriaty. “The logic employed here would never be applied elsewhere in medicine.”