A California physician has been disciplined by the state's medical board for wrongfully exempting a toddler from childhood vaccinations.
Dr. Bob Sears, a doctor based in Orange County, was put on probation and "required to take 40 hours of medical education courses a year, as well as an ethics class, and also be monitored by a fellow doctor... [and] must notify all hospital and medical facilities where he practices of the order and is not allowed to supervise physician assistants or nurse practicioners," according to the L.A. Times.
Sears is known for advocating for an "alternative vaccination schedule" that is more spaced out than the schedule recommended by the CDC. Medical Ethicist Arthur Caplan says that concept is based on the false premise that vaccines are dangerous to children.
"You get more mercury or dangerous substances by letting your kid crawl on the rug," Caplan said.
Caplan was relieved the California board decided to take action against Sears and criticized his public promotion of anti-vaccine ideas, which Caplan said are not based on scientific evidence.
"Sears just lied," Caplan said. "He sold a lot of books and did a lot of talks and paid lectures on this, but [California] finally shut him down," he said.
