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FACT BRIEF

Did doctors in Florida walk out in protest over COVID-19 cases and refuse to treat unvaccinated patients?

Tuesday, August 24, 2021
By AP Staff
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Doctors in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, held a news conference early Monday morning to urge COVID-19 vaccinations, but it was undermined as media reports falsely claimed the physicians had walked off the job.

The news conference, which was attended by doctors from several local hospitals, took place before office hours. It wasn’t a protest or walkout, nor did doctors refuse to treat patients.

Dr. Jennifer Buczyner, a neurologist who organized the news conference, said it was over by 7:15 a.m., and she saw 25 patients afterward.

Shelly Weiss Friedberg, a public relations director at Tenet Healthcare, which operates Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center, confirmed hospital staff did not walk out.

The doctors “held the event at 6 a.m. before office hours so it wouldn’t interfere with patient visits,” she said.  

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Sources
AP News FACT FOCUS: Florida doctors did not walk off the job
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.