YouTube has taken down a video of two doctors from Bakersfield, California, who held a press conference calling for the reopening of the country. According to the Google-owned video platform, the doctors “violated community guidelines.”
The doctors, Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi, operate out of an urgent care clinic in Bakersfield. Citing fatality statistics in California, the doctors argued that the Chinese virus has proven less deadly than anticipated.
“We have 39.5 million people, if we just take a basic calculation and extrapolate that out, that equates to about 4.7 million cases throughout the state of California,” said Dr. Erickson. “Which means this thing is widespread, that’s the good news. We’ve seen 1,227 deaths in the state of California with a possible incidents or prevalence of 4.7 million. That means you have a 0.03 chance of dying from COVID-19 in the state of California.”
The doctors made their case in a 50-minute press conference, which was uploaded to YouTube. The Google-owned video platform has since taken the video down, replacing it with a message stating that the content violated its community guidelines.
GOING BROKE? The Washington Post Is Bleeding Money, With Losses Exceeding $100 Million in 2025
Poll: America’s Support for Israel Plunges as More Independents and Democrats Sympathize with Palestinians
US and Israel launch ‘preemptive’ attack against Iran
WATCH: Dem lawmaker makes surprising admission about border as others trash Trump’s SOTU ‘lies’
BREAKING REPORT: Israel Strikes Iran, US Involved
Richard Cox derails sex offender case, once again
North Carolina woman arrested nearly 50 years after baby found dead in trash bag at landfill
Biden accuses Trump of erasing history and squandering US leadership role on global stage: ‘Dark days’
ICE blasts Washington mayor over directive restricting immigration enforcement
Trump floats Ted Cruz for Supreme Court, jokes he’d get ‘100%’ bipartisan vote to ‘get him out of there’
Dem Washington House majority leader apologizes for being ‘impaired’ during budget hearing
Man accused of spraying anti-ICE graffiti at Oklahoma Capitol is registered child sex offender; charges filed
Hegseth bans military from attending Princeton, Columbia, other elite universities: ‘Wokeness and weakness’
Trump picks up Whataburger for Air Force One and jokes about being poisoned after Texas speech
Luigi Mangione escapes federal death penalty after federal prosecutors decline to appeal judge’s ruling
23ABC News Bakersfield, the news station that uploaded the video, confirmed that the first part of the press conference is no longer available on YouTube. The news station said it has submitted an appeal to YouTube but has yet to hear back.
In the video, which has been reuploaded to other channels as well as to other video-hosting platforms, Dr. Erickson said that the focus on the coronavirus was drawing medical resources away from other urgent problems.
The Second part of the briefing is still available on the 23ABC News Bakerfield account:
“When I talk to E.R. physicians around the country, what’s happening? Well because COVID has become the focus, people with heart disease, people with cancer, hypertension, and various things that are critical are choosing not to come in based on fear. So what that’s doing is forcing the healthcare system to focus on COVID and not focus on a myriad of other things that are critical.”
GOING BROKE? The Washington Post Is Bleeding Money, With Losses Exceeding $100 Million in 2025
Poll: America’s Support for Israel Plunges as More Independents and Democrats Sympathize with Palestinians
US and Israel launch ‘preemptive’ attack against Iran
WATCH: Dem lawmaker makes surprising admission about border as others trash Trump’s SOTU ‘lies’
BREAKING REPORT: Israel Strikes Iran, US Involved
Richard Cox derails sex offender case, once again
North Carolina woman arrested nearly 50 years after baby found dead in trash bag at landfill
Biden accuses Trump of erasing history and squandering US leadership role on global stage: ‘Dark days’
ICE blasts Washington mayor over directive restricting immigration enforcement
Trump floats Ted Cruz for Supreme Court, jokes he’d get ‘100%’ bipartisan vote to ‘get him out of there’
Dem Washington House majority leader apologizes for being ‘impaired’ during budget hearing
Man accused of spraying anti-ICE graffiti at Oklahoma Capitol is registered child sex offender; charges filed
Hegseth bans military from attending Princeton, Columbia, other elite universities: ‘Wokeness and weakness’
Trump picks up Whataburger for Air Force One and jokes about being poisoned after Texas speech
Luigi Mangione escapes federal death penalty after federal prosecutors decline to appeal judge’s ruling
The doctors’ comments have been criticized by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM).
“The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) jointly and emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi. These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical societies and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19.”
Story cited here.
