Newsom Spreads ‘Misinformation’ on COVID-19

California Gov. Gavin Newsom in San Francisco, Calif., on Feb. 9, 2022. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Commentary

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed into law Assembly Bill 2098, whose exact language reads:

“It shall constitute unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the development, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. ... ‘Misinformation’ means false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.”

Although not a physician or surgeon, on Oct. 17 he violated the spirit of AB 2098 himself by announcing next Feb. 28 will be the end of the COVID-19 State of Emergency he declared almost three years ago. According to Pew Trusts last May 19, “Most States Have Ended Their COVID Health Emergencies”—five months go.

Thus, by extending California’s COVID-19 State of Emergency almost a year longer than the other states, Newsom violated the “contemporary scientific consensus” of those states on the matter.

Joking aside, the fact is AB 2098 is not medicine, but politics. Moreover, the medical “contemporary scientific consensus” on COVID-19 keeps changing. Remember when people were denounced for saying COVID-19 was cooked up in a Chinese lab in Wuhan? On May 21, 2021, New York Times reporter Apoorva Mandavilli even tweeted, “Someday we will stop talking about the lab leak theory and maybe even admit its racist roots. But alas, that day is not yet here.” The tweet later was deleted.

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Yet as early as April 23, 2020, just weeks into the pandemic, The Epoch Times’ Joshua Philipp produced an insightful documentary, “Coronavirus Origins, China’s ‘Bat Woman,’ and the CCP’s Coverup.” Fortunately, it’s still up on YouTube.

A Google search also quickly revealed The Epoch Times’ continuing coverage of the COVID origins story.

But we also can look beyond the reporting of this newspaper. None other than the U.S. Director of National Intelligence produced an “Unclassified Summary of Assessment on COVID-19 Origins” (pdf), which found:

“After examining all available intelligence reporting and other information, though, the IC remains divided on the most likely origin of COVID-19. All agencies assess that two hypotheses are plausible: natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident. …

“China’s cooperation most likely would be needed to reach a conclusive assessment of the origins of COVID19. Beijing, however, continues to hinder the global investigation, resist sharing information and blame other countries, including the United States. These actions reflect, in part, China’s government’s own uncertainty about where an investigation could lead as well as its frustration the international community is using the issue to exert political pressure on China.”

I’m not a physician or epidemiologist, and you probably aren’t either. My point here is Newsom and the Legislature cannot be the judges of what a physician says about COVID-19, whether on its origins or anything else.

As the DNI assessment noted, a reasonable answer would require cooperation by Communist China, which never will happen. Especially not after the recent increase in tensions with Beijing, including Taiwan tensions and President Biden slapping new technology sanctions on China.

Once physicians are prosecuted—that is, persecuted—lawsuits over AB 2098 are inevitable. According to the Liberty Justice Center, a legal group:

“Prohibiting doctors from discussing any COVID-19 options other than those supported by the current ’scientific consensus’ undermines their ability to best serve their patients and puts patients at greater risk. As for fears of ’misinformation'? Patients are already protected from false claims by California law which prohibits doctors from lying to patients or mistreating them for any illness.”

Indeed, the Liberty Justice Center already filed a lawsuit on behalf of two California physicians, Mark McDonald, M.D., a Los Angeles psychiatrist, and Jeff Barke, M.D., an Orange County primary care physician. I know Dr. Barke and he is a fine doctor.

The Liberty Justice Center said in a statement, “The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the Medical Board of California and Attorney General of California. The plaintiffs also filed papers seeking a preliminary injunction to protect their free speech rights as the case unfolds.”

Newsom tried to get around the sacrosanct doctor-patient relationship by writing, in his signing statement for AB 2098:

“To be clear, this bill does not apply to any speech outside of discussions directly related to COVID-19 treatment within a direct physician-patient relationship. I am concerned about the chilling effect other potential laws may have on physicians and surgeons who need to be able to effectively talk to their patients about the risks and benefits of treatments for a disease that appeared in just the last few years.”

But who is he to decide what is or is not “a direct physician-patient relationship”? What if a doctor sends out emails to his patients taking a non-consensus position on COVID-19’s origins? Perhaps even quoting the DNI document’s words from above?

The assemblyman who authored AB 2098 is Evan Low (D-Campbell). According to his official biography, he is not a physician, either. He only has gone to college, then been active as a politician. He has no experience in the real world of business in the private sector. After reading the accomplishments listed on his home page, some might conclude he’s just a busybody.

Why can’t these politicians just leave us alone?

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.