Connecticut Doc Suspended for Mailing Blank Vaccine Exemptions

A Connecticut physician’s license has been suspended after she provided fake vaccine and other exemption forms related to COVID-19, according to the state’s Medical Examining Board.

Sue McIntosh, MD, of Durham, was sending fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine exemption forms through the mail “to anyone who supplied a self-addressed stamped envelope to her,” the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) said in a statement. She also provided exemption forms related to requirements for general vaccines, COVID testing, and wearing masks, all without ever seeing the patient, state documents noted.

Connecticut DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, said McIntosh’s actions “are irresponsible and unacceptable,” adding that they “represent a clear and immediate danger to the public health and safety of our communities.” McIntosh’s suspension “should serve as a warning to other practitioners that this conduct deviates from the standard of care and is subject to serious discipline.”

McIntosh is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, with a subspecialty in hematology-oncology.

The Connecticut Medical Examining Board said in state documents that it received an anonymous complaint in July, alleging that McIntosh was providing fraudulent vaccine exemptions through the mail. Two months later, McIntosh sent signed forms that provided exemptions from COVID-related mask wearing and vaccination requirements through the mail to a medical licensing board investigator, as well as exemptions from COVID testing requirements “without examining, identifying, or evaluating the patient.”

According to the complaint, along with the signed forms, McIntosh included “a note that the receiving individual may copy and distribute as many forms as they wish. There were instructions to keep blank copies for future use.”

The state documents indicated that McIntosh failed to obtain a medical history for the patient, failed to establish a patient-healthcare provider relationship, failed to comply with CDC guidelines, provided medical advice and/or direction that was potentially harmful, and failed to maintain appropriate medical records.

The state examining board said McIntosh’s suspension is pending a final determination by the board, scheduled for October 5.

Earlier this month, across the country, a Dallas, Oregon family physician lost his license, in part for refusing to wear a mask while treating patients, and for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 prevention, specifically telling patients that masks are ineffective. The state agency said that Steven Arthur LaTulippe, MD, who was also a pain and addiction medicine specialist, had mismanaged numerous pain patients.

State licensing agencies appear to be increasingly following the August guidance from the Federation of State Medical Boards, which warned allopathic and osteopathic clinicians that they could be disciplined by their licensing agencies for spreading misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines.