CPSO Cautions Doctor For "irresponsible" COVID-19 Tweets

In a trio of decisions, all released on February 6, 2021, the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee ("ICRC" or the "Committee") of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario ("CPSO") ordered a physician to attend to be cautioned in person in relation to COVID-19 related content on her Twitter account. At the time of this publication, two of the three decisions have been appealed to the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board.

The CPSO became aware of the pediatrician's social media content after receiving complaints from members of the public. Tweets at issue in two of the decisions stated, "[t]here is absolutely no medical or scientific reason for this prolonged, harmful and illogical lockdown" and "[i]f you have not yet figured out that we don't need a vaccine, you are not paying attention". The third decision also concerned a retweet that stated, "[c]ontact tracing, testing and isolation ... is ineffective, naïve & counter-productive