In a classic case of one hand not knowing what the other is doing, a Virginia doctor has been awarded a legislative commendation for his study into alternative treatments of COVID-19 just a few days before the state’s medical licensing board informed him he was under investigation for misconduct for the same work.
On Mar. 11, the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously passed HR228, a resolution to recognize Dr. Paul Marik, founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC), for what lawmakers called “his courageous treatment of critically ill COVID-19 patients.”
“Instead of playing it safe, and going along with so-called conventional wisdom, Dr. Marik dared to take a truly scientific approach by questioning and innovating in an environment where both were not only frowned upon, but for which he was persecuted,” said Virginia Republican Dave LaRock, the resolution’s primary sponsor.
Just a few days later Marik received a letter dated Mar. 15 from the Virginia Department of Health Professions informing him he had until Mar. 29 to respond to an investigation underway by the agency into his medical practices.
According to the letter, the investigation is based on a complaint from Sentara Hospitals, Norfolk, where Marik ran its intensive-care unit before it suspended him for refusing to prescribe Remdesivir and instead prescribed Ivermectin and other alternative treatments to COVID patients.
In her complaint, the hospital’s credential analyst Lisa Moretti wrote that Dr. Marik had been “precautionarily suspended” on Nov. 18 due to concerns related to professional conduct that could pose an “imminent risk of harm.”
The state also provided Marik with a copy of a Feb. 8 complaint from a 40-year-old Maryland man presumed to be a patient of Marik’s.
The man claims that Marik had “advocated for the use of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19,” which resulted in his “direct harm.” The complaint says nothing else.
In an interview with The Epoch Times over the conflicting actions by the state of Virginia, Marik said being honored by the Virginia legislature has offset some of the mental drain that allegations of medical misconduct against him have caused him.