A vaccine-skeptical doctor was invited to be a lead witness at a Senate committee hearing this week regarding early at-home treatment for COVID-19.
Dr. Jane Orient, the executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, which opposes federal vaccine mandates and government involvement in medicine, will testify in front of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The panel is lead by Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican.
Orient’s opinions on the vaccine, which is set to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration as early as this week, was met with criticism by some lawmakers.
“At such a crucial time, giving a platform to conspiracy theorists to spread myths and falsehoods about COVID vaccines is downright dangerous and one of the last things Senate Republicans should be doing right now,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The doctor clarified via email to the Washington Examiner that her organization doesn’t discourage vaccination or recommend specific therapies.
Orient said her criticisms of the vaccinations lie mostly in its timeline, adding that the vaccine likely won’t be available to the general public for months, testing for long-term adverse effects likely won’t begin for another few months, and no public health authorities have said the pandemic will end once the vaccine begins distribution.
She hit back at lawmakers who suggest that the hearing will be solely about COVID-19 vaccination.
“The hearing is about early out-patient treatment. Government should stop discouraging or suppressing it. Already 100,000 Americans might have died needlessly,” Orient wrote. “If Democrats want to discuss federal vaccine mandates, it is the subject for another hearing. Patients have a right to try and a right to be informed.”
In an interview with the New York Times, Orient said she doesn’t like being cast as an “anti-vaxxer” but doesn’t want to get the coronavirus vaccine because she has an autoimmune condition. Orient promotes hydroxychloroquine as a top treatment for COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine was taken by President Trump earlier this year. He had touted the unproven antimalarial drug to the dismay of some health officials.
Orient will appear remotely in the hearing from her home in Tucson, Arizona. She said she wants to promote hydroxychloroquine during the hearing and urge government guidelines to inform doctors about using the drug as a potential treatment for COVID-19.
The hearing will take place as federal officials scramble to highlight the safety and effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine as the best solution to combat the virus. Three former presidents, along with other prominent people in government, have vowed to take the vaccine publicly to ensure people of its safety.
A panel of top medical and scientific experts will help the FDA review a Pfizer vaccine candidate on Thursday. Last month, the vaccine was reported to be 95% effective in preventing the coronavirus.
Since its outbreak in early 2020, the coronavirus has infected more than 14 million people in the country and killed more than 280,000 people.
