A U.S. doctor fed up with low COVID-19 vaccination rates has vowed not to treat unvaccinated patients.
Alabama general practitioner Jason Valentine of Diagnostic and Medical Clinic Infirmary Health in Mobile says he can no longer see how people die from the virus.
In an already deleted Facebook post, the experienced doctor posted a photo of himself in front of a sign on his office door.
“As of October 1, 2021, Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients who are not vaccinated against COVID-19,” the sign said.
Valentine also published the contents of a letter he intended to send to his patients.
“We still don’t have any excellent treatment for serious illnesses, but we do have great prevention with vaccines,” he said, according to the local publication. AL.com.
“Unfortunately, many have refused to take the vaccine and some end up seriously ill or dead.
“I can’t and won’t force anyone to get the vaccine, but I also can’t continue to see how my patients suffer and die from an eminently preventable disease.”
He also indicated that he was “happy” that his patients could see other doctors.
In another comment, he said he told patients he had questioned police, “COVID is a miserable way to die and I can’t see how they die like that.”
According to reports, he also said three patients who saw the site decided to get vaccinated later.
Alabama, a state with one of the worst COVID vaccination rates in the United States, has run out of intensive care hospital beds.
“We’re seeing rates of people in Alabama hospitals really rising as fast as we could imagine,” said state health official Scott Harris.
“Since yesterday we had just under 2,800 patients in the hospital.
“The number of ICU beds we have available in Alabama is zero. We have no room for additional ICU patients in our state
“We have more patients receiving critical care than critical care beds.”
Harris said there had been a “lump” in vaccination rates.
“In recent weeks we have been making an average of between 14,000 and 16,000 vaccines a day. About two-thirds are people getting their first shot.
“It’s definitely a lot better than where we were four or five weeks ago, when we saw 4,000 or 5,000 shots (a day).”