Doctor suspended for ‘dangerous misinformation’ on COVID

Updated: Nov 15, 2021 / 04:48 PM CST

The exterior of the Houston Methodist Hospital is seen on June 09, 2021 in Houston, Texas. Houston Methodist Hospital has suspended 178 employees without pay for 14 days for their refusal to comply with its COVID-19 vaccine requirement. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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HOUSTON (KXAN) — Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas has suspended privileges for an ear, nose and throat doctor after she advised patients not to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

A hospital representative confirmed the suspension of Dr. Mary Talley Bowden to the Washington Post. Houston Methodist said Bowden was “spreading dangerous misinformation which is not based in science.”

The hospital said she only recently joined staff and was vaccinated against COVID-19.

Bowden tweeted earlier this month that she was “shifting focus to treating the unvaccinated” due to the “current climate and writing on the wall.” She also promoted experimental treatments over the Food and Drug Administration-approved coronavirus vaccines.

In a Twitter thread, Houston Methodist elaborated, saying in part: “These opinions, which are harmful to the community, do not reflect reliable medical evidence or the values of Houston Methodist, where we have treated more than 25,000 COVID-19 inpatients, and where all our employees and physicians are vaccinated to protect our patients.”

Houston Methodist said it “does not and will never” deny care to a patient based on their vaccination status.

(Screen capture of Houston Methodist Hospital tweet via Twitter)

Bowden also promoted usage of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin — even though it’s not FDA-approved for COVID-19 treatment and is overwhelmingly shown to have next-to-zero efficacy.

Bowden previously made headlines after the wife of one of her patients sued Texas Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth to allow Bowden to give her husband, who’d been hospitalized for more than a month, ivermectin treatment. During court testimony, Bowden claimed she had treated more than 2,000 COVID-19 patients successfully with the drug, the Fort Worth-Star Telegram reports.

Imagine that your 48 year old husband, the father of your 6 children, is dying in the ICU and the doctors would rather have him die than try ivermectin.
— Mary Talley Bowden MD (@MdBreathe) November 10, 2021

While the request was originally granted, Texas Huguley filed an appeal. The decision of whether or not Bowden will be allowed to treat patient Jason Jones is now on hold pending arguments and review.

Bowden’s attorney, Steven Mitby told the Washington Post his client is “not anti-vaccine,” but that she “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.”

Bowden is the owner of a private practice in downtown Houston, which offers salt cave inhalation (where a person sits inside an enclosure and breathes in pink Himalayan salt) and infrared sauna — something that’s typically a spa treatment — as COVID-19 remedies.

On Monday, Bowden gave an interview with Houston-based conservative radio host Michael Berry in an episode called “Cancelled For COVID.”

KXAN reached out to Bowden’s attorney for comment and did not hear back by publication time.