Texas doctor resigns after suspension for ‘spreading dangerous misinformation’ about COVID-19

A Texas doctor who was suspended for promoting ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 has resigned from her job, NBC News reports.

Mary Bowden, a Houston-based doctor, had previously had her privileges suspended from her job for “spreading dangerous misinformation” about COVID-19. 

Bowden, an ear, nose and throat doctor at Houston Methodist Hospital, announced her resignation on Monday via Twitter.  

“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,” she said after posting her resignation letter online.

She also said in her resignation letter that she is not “anti-vaccine” but opposes “vaccine mandates on principle.”

Bowden further touted her record of having treated more than “2000 COVID patients” and said that “none of them have required hospitalization.”

She further added in her letter that “recent experience shows that vaccines are not 100 percent effective” and that there is “substantial evidence of efficacy of ivermectin in treating COVID-19.”

She also accused Houston Methodist Hospital of sharing “false and defamatory” statements against her over the accusation that she is spreading “dangerous misinformation.”

Bowden has previously touted on her personal Twitter page that “ivermectin works,” and has tweeted multiple times on her personal account that “vaccine mandates are wrong.”

Ivermectin works pic.twitter.com/3Ei0eIwl13

— Mary Talley Bowden MD (@MdBreathe) November 14, 2021

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have not recommended ivermectin, a drug used to kill parasites, as a COVID-19 treatment. 

Ivermectin is currently approved by the FDA to treat humans for parasitic worms, lice and skin conditions including rosacea. It is also used to treat animals, including cattle and horses.

Bowden’s lawyer, Steve Mitby, and Houston Methodist Hospital did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

Houston Methodist Hospital previously told The Hill that Bowden’s social media remarks “do not reflect reliable medical evidence or the values of Houston Methodist.”

It also emphasized that it “will never deny care to a patient based on vaccination status.”

“Dr. Bowden, who has never admitted a patient at Houston Methodist Hospital, is spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science,” the hospital said in its statement.