The Oregon Medical Board revoked the medical license of Steven Arthur LaTulippe, a Salem, Oregon-area doctor who refused to following state health department guidelines requiring patients to wear masks, The Oregonian reports.
LaTulippe instructed patients to remove their masks while waiting in his office. He refused to have his staff screen patients for signs of coronavirus, instead relying on a visual inspection by a receptionist at the front desk to identify patients who may be sick. In office visits, LaTulippe told patients that masks were ineffective against the coronavirus and he claimed that wearing a mask could cause carbon dioxide poisoning, a debunked claim frequently made by pandemic deniers.
In other action, the board found LaTuippe improperly prescribed excess dosages of opioid medications to at least eight patients when doctors reviewing the cases found the highly-addictive medication unwarranted.
LaTuippe rose to a level of regional fame when he spoke at a November 7, 2020 Stop the Steal rally in Salem, claiming the November 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump and saying that public health efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus were a socialist plot to overthrow the Trump Administration. The state GOP uploaded a video of his speech to YouTube, which removed the post weeks later for violating its terms of service about spreading disinformation about the coronavirus.