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Houston Methodist Suspends Doc for 'Spreading Dangerous' Info

— Mary Talley Bowden, MD, says she will no longer treat vaccinated patients

Last Updated November 17, 2021
MedpageToday
A photo of Houston Methodist Hospital next to a photo of Mary Talley Bowden, MD.

A Houston-based ear, nose, and throat doctor, who has been a vocal opponent of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, was suspended from practicing at Houston Methodist Hospital.

Mary Talley Bowden, MD, consistently used her to promulgate the "efficacy" of ivermectin and the "potential dangers" of the COVID-19 vaccines. It was another tweet, however, that intensified the scrutiny already surrounding her.

"I've had it. Going forward, I will not accept any patients who have been vaccinated," Bowden on November 5. "I will continue to see established patients how [sic] have had the vaccine, but all new patients have to be unvaccinated."

According to Houston Methodist, Bowden only recently joined the staff and had never admitted a patient to the hospital as of November 12.

She subsequently resigned from the hospital, .

Houston Methodist's official Twitter account posted a of tweets addressing the issue, explaining that Bowden has been "spreading dangerous information which is not based in science." They added that her opinions "are harmful to the community [and] 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."

More than 150 employees of Houston Methodist -- one of the country's first hospitals to require that employees get vaccinated -- resigned or were fired in late June for refusing to comply with the vaccine mandate. Bowden, Houston Methodist said in another , told the hospital that she herself had received the COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital also emphasized that no patient would be denied care based on vaccination status.

Bowden is also in the midst of another dispute with a different hospital, Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Fort Worth. Family members of Jason Jones, 48, a local sheriff's deputy who has been hospitalized with COVID-19 for over a month there, are suing the hospital to allow Bowden to treat him with ivermectin.

Texas Health Huguley has filed an appeal to pause an order issued on November 8 that would have given Bowden temporary privileges at the hospital, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram .

"I didn't start prescribing ivermectin just blindly ... I checked the FDA study when ivermectin was originally approved for human use," Bowden told a local NBC-affiliate station. "I have enough clinical experience to safely say what I am doing is what I should be doing. I think it's just criminal what these other doctors are not doing and it's going to go down in history."

Bowden continues to practice at an in-person clinic and also offers telehealth services. Danielle Jones, MD, an ob/gyn who has amassed 1 million followers on TikTok, took to the app to make a about the various services Bowden is currently offering. "For just $200 and 30 minutes of your time, you can get 1,000 mL of normal saline and a whole bunch of vitamins to create very expensive urine that you will put into your toilet," Jones said in the video. "For the low, low cost of $375 ... you can get the same PCR COVID test that you would get for free at Walgreens from Dr. Bowden."

At the end of her video, Jones said that Bowden likely has a financial incentive to convince people not to get vaccinated so she can continue to peddle her own pricey, unproven treatments.

In a , Bowden's attorney Steven Mitby said that Bowden "is a Stanford-trained physician who owns a successful medical practice in Houston and has provided top-quality care to thousands of Houstonians" and "has treated more than 2,000 patients with COVID-19, many with comorbidities, and has yet to have one of her patients end up in the hospital."

"If America had more doctors like Dr. Bowden, COVID outcomes would be much better," Mitby added. "Dr. Bowden is not anti-vaccine ... [She] has the utmost respect for Houston Methodist and is proud of the work she has done along with her colleagues at Houston Methodist."

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    Kara Grant joined the Enterprise & Investigative Reporting team at ֱ in February 2021. She covers psychiatry, mental health, and medical education.