A reporter's dog received a COVID-19 vaccine waiver during a Nashville TV station's investigation of a Tennessee doctor who's selling the documents through a website.
Dr. Robert Coble is offering "handwritten medical waivers personally reviewed and signed by a licensed physician" through a company called MedChoice LLC, based in Hendersonville, according to the report from Channel 5's Jennifer Kraus.
"We were able to order one of these waivers supposedly signed by a doctor, without any sort of contact or prior relationship with that doctor," the station reports. "The website said you could order one for yourself or a family member, so we paid almost $139 for a COVID waiver for Charlie Kraus, because, we clicked, he was afraid of needles. And, days later, the company sent my family member, Charlie, who's a black labrador retriever, his COVID waiver."
Dr. Michael Carome, the head of Public Citizen's health research group, noted that "an irrational fear of needles" and other options listed on the MedChoice website are not "medically justified" reasons for a COVID vaccine exemption.
"To have a website here that provides a tool for people to avoid those mandates for illegitimate reasons is just not acceptable," Carome said.
The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners has said it will discipline health professionals who make false claims about COVID, but a representative told the station someone would need to file a complaint before it investigates.
According to Channel 5, Charlie's vaccine waiver "looks like a medical prescription," complete with a watermark to prevent duplication, and came with a handwritten note saying, "Charlie should not receive any COVID vaccine."
"The company also sent a laminated waiver card, also supposedly signed by Dr. Coble, that said Charlie was 'certified medically exempt from the COVID vaccination,' with directions saying, 'For best results, provide card and say "I am medically unable to receive the COVID vaccine and my doctor has provided this documentation of that fact."'
The station determined that an address listed for Dr. Coble was just a P.O. Box, while a call to his phone number went to a recording. Coble reportedly is retired.
"We tried repeatedly to reach Dr. Coble to ask about the waiver and, after he did not return our calls, we went to the tiny Giles County town of Minor Hill and found the 74-year-old working on his farm," the station reports. "But as soon as we tried to talk with him, he headed for his house, not answering our questions. After our NewsChannel 5 Investigates team started asking questions, the company took down its website but MedChoice LLC appears to be still selling waivers, now through a new website."
Watch the report below.
