LA Southern California pediatrician and outspoken critic of mandatory vaccinations has been placed on probation for 35 months by the state’s medical board.
Dr. Bob Sears had been accused of failing to obtain a detailed medical history before writing a 2014 letter excusing a toddler from immunizations. Officials said he wrote the letter after the 2-year-old’s mother described an adverse reaction to an earlier vaccination.
He said he agreed to a settlement with the state medical board, which was signed on Wednesday, because ‘it was likely that I’d get probation anyway.’
Dr. Bob Sears had been accused of failing to obtain a detailed medical history before writing a 2014 letter excusing a toddler from immunizations
The doctor will be allowed to continue practicing medicine but will also have to take 40 hours of medical education this year. He’ll also have to take an ethics class and be observed by another doctor.
Seats also has to inform all places where he works that he is not allowed to supervise physician assistants or nurse practitioners.
‘It’s not a trivial decision, it’s not a slap on the hand,’ said UC Hastings law professor Dorit Reiss to the Los Angeles Times. ‘It really is strongly limiting his ability to practice … he’s a doctor under supervision now.’
Sears said the child’s mother was afraid that a judge at an upcoming court hearing was going to force her to resume vaccinating her son and needed a letter right away.
The doctor will be allowed to continue practicing medicine but will also have to take 40 hours of medical education this year
The doctor said it ended up taking more than a year to receive the boy’s medical records.
On Facebook he said: ‘Isn’t it my job to listen to my patients and believe what a parent says happened to her baby? Isn’t that what ALL doctors do with their patients?
‘A patient’s word is often the only evidence we have – as doctors we must trust our patients, the same way our patients trust us to look out for their best interest.
‘After all, I don’t want a child to receive a medical treatment that could cause more harm. I am going to first do no harm, every time.’
Sears said the child’s mother was afraid that a judge at an upcoming court hearing was going to force her to resume vaccinating her son and needed a letter right away (stock)
Sears has authored a popular book on vaccines and advocates a staggered, alternative vaccination schedule that contrasts with recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The doctor had faced punishments ranging from a public reprimand to a permanent revocation of his license.
He shared that there are four more cases that he has to deal with for writing improper vaccine exemptions.
‘It seems there is an attempt to keep me on probation for the rest of my medical career,’ Sears added in his Facebook post.
‘A patient’s word is often the only evidence we have – as doctors we must trust our patients, the same way our patients trust us to look out for their best interest,’ the doctor said