Doctor gave bogus COVID vaccine waivers, including to a dog, TN medical board says
A doctor has voluntarily surrendered his medical license after being accused of providing unofficial COVID-19 vaccination exemption waivers, the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners said.
Robert Coble, 76, was employed at MedChoice LLC, in Hendersonville in August and September 2021, according to an order from the Tennessee Department of Health released on June 15.
During that time, MedChoice advertised COVID-19 vaccine waivers on its website, which could be ordered by an individual for $139, the order said.
The website, which provided “handwritten medical waivers personally reviewed and signed by a licensed physician,” asked applicants to select the reason for ordering the waiver, the order said.
Possible reasons included “I am very anxious about getting the vaccine,” and “I am immunosuppressed.”
An attorney for Coble was not listed on the order and MedChoice has since been dissolved, according to Kaiser Health News.
In 2021, a Nashville news station discovered Coble’s name, signature and medical license number was appearing on waivers sold online, the outlet reported.
The outlet tried to order a vaccine waiver for Charlie, a black Labrador retriever, and selected “I have an irrational fear of needles,” as his reason.
The outlet paid the $139, and days later, a personalized waiver arrived for Charlie with a handwritten note that said “Charlie should not receive any Covid vaccine,” the outlet reported.
The order does not include Charlie specifically, but does provide an “irrational fear of needles” as one of the reasons listed for someone to need a waiver.
Some of the waivers were also sent to individuals outside the state of Tennessee, the order said, though Coble was only licensed in that state. The order said people in Maine and Washington ordered and received cards signed by Coble.
Coble reached an agreement May 16 to voluntarily surrender his license, pay a series of fines and prevent him from applying for another medical license for a year after the effective date of the order.
Coble is a resident of Goodspring, Kaiser Health News reported, about 85 miles southwest of Nashville.
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