A physician in Tennessee has misplaced his medical license after a neighborhood information investigation revealed he was promoting bogus COVID-19 vaccination waivers to primarily anybody—together with sufferers he had by no means met, sufferers in far-flung states, and one black Labrador retriever named Charlie.

In a consent order signed Could 16, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners decided Robert Coble had violated state statutes on the grounds of “unprofessional, dishonorable, or unethical conduct,” and “making false statements or representations, being responsible of fraud or deceit … within the apply of medication.”

Coble voluntarily surrendered his medical license, efficient that day, which is equal to a revocation. Coble additionally agreed to chorus from reapplying for a medical license for a minimum of a yr and to pay a $1,000 wonderful and the prices of the board’s investigation of his case, as much as $2,000.

KFF Well being Information was the primary to report the result, which was made public on June 15.

In November 2021, Nashville’s outlet NewsChannel 5 reported that Coble offered COVID-19 vaccine waivers by means of a Hendersonville-based firm referred to as MedChoice LLC. An internet site for the now-dissolved firm beforehand provided “hand written medical waivers personally reviewed and signed by a licensed doctor.”

All an applicant wanted to do to get a waiver was pay Coble roughly $139 and test off a cause for needing the waiver from an inventory. The record included causes resembling: “I’ve an irrational concern of needles,” “I’m very anxious about getting the vaccine (ex. poor sleep, emotions of being overwhelmed, improve coronary heart charge, monopolizing concern),” “I’m immunosuppressed,” and “I’ve an autoimmune illness.”

A reporter for NewsChannel 5, Jennifer Kraus, purchased one for a member of the family, Charlie Kraus, a black Labrador retriever. Within the buy, she indicated that Charlie had an irrational concern of needles. Days later, the pup bought his waiver, together with his journalist proprietor reporting:

The customized waiver is on what seems like a medical prescription kind with a handwritten word that claims “Charlie shouldn’t obtain any COVID vaccine.” It is even has a watermark on it like actual prescriptions to stop duplication.

The corporate additionally despatched a laminated waiver card, additionally supposedly signed by Dr. Coble, that stated Charlie was “licensed medically exempt from the COVID vaccination,” with instructions saying, “For finest outcomes, present card and say ‘I’m medically unable to obtain the COVID vaccine and my physician has offered this documentation of that truth.'”

But when these official-looking paperwork weren’t truly convincing, Coble reportedly tried to intervene. In response to the medical board’s investigation, when a buyer’s human sources division or college’s scholar well being division rejected Coble’s waiver, Coble would get in contact with the shopper, interview them over the telephone, after which name the rejecting division and attempt to persuade them to reverse the rejection. It is unclear how usually this was profitable.

The board didn’t point out what number of waivers Coble might have offered however reported that he offered them by means of MedChoice a minimum of between August 2021 and September 2021. In that point, waivers had been offered to folks in Tennessee and different states the place Coble was not licensed, together with Maine and Washington.