Ryan Cole presents COVID falsehoods at Idaho Capitol, says his speeches ‘cost me my career’

A powerful conservative lobbying group in Idaho hosted Dr. Ryan Cole, a member of the Boise-area public health district, at the Idaho Capitol on Thursday for an event centered on disinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Idaho Freedom Foundation, which has advocated for legislation to curtail public health districts and outlaw measures like mandated masks and vaccination requirements, hosted an hourlong event from Cole and other people who asked lawmakers to prohibit vaccines.

Cole, who was restricted from practicing most medicine in Washington earlier this year for spreading disinformation in presentations about COVID-19, gave a falsehood-laced presentation about the dangers of COVID-19 and other vaccines Thursday.

Cole also announced that he had to sell his Garden City medical lab – a consequence of the insurance network St. Luke’s Health Partners cutting ties with him three years ago.

“Do I have a job anymore? No,” he said.

In his presentation, Cole articulated a worldview in which pharmaceutical companies, media organizations and the government have worked in concert to harm people.

“Speaking like this has cost me my career,” he said.

The Washington Medical Commission determined in January that Cole, who has given many presentations about COVID-19 vaccines around the world, has engaged in a “pattern” of misinformation about medical research – a pattern that continued Thursday at the statehouse.

“It is apparent that (Cole) has disregarded the body of COVID-related evidence found in the medical literature,” the commission found. “He then misrepresented that evidence when he presented only one side of it to the public.”

In a 30-minute presentation, Cole on Thursday impugned the mRNA vaccines created to combat the coronavirus, falsely claiming that they cause cancer, increase COVID-19 infections, cause blood clotting, hurt reproductive organs and alter DNA. Many of these debunked claims were cited in the commission’s findings, which noted his claims were “demonstrably false” and that he could endanger the public by voicing them as a doctor.

Hundreds of millions of Americans have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and research shows the vaccines reduce the likelihood of severe illness and death. Adverse health effects are rare.

Cole gave his presentation to a crowded audience at the Legislature that included Rep. Jacyn Gallagher, R-Weiser – who has sponsored bills this year to ban mask mandates and restrict the powers of public health districts – and Ada County Commissioner Ryan Davidson, who voted to appoint Cole to the Central District Health board three years ago.

The commission’s investigation found that Cole’s decision to prescribe ivermectin – an antiparasitic drug primarily used for livestock illnesses – to four patients for COVID-19 could have caused “moderate to severe patient harm.”

“Did any patients complain? No,” Cole said Thursday. “Were any patients harmed? No.”

Cole was also sued in Ada County last year for medical malpractice after a patient received invasive surgery because Cole incorrectly diagnosed her with cancer, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.

In a response to the Washington commission, Cole denied that he had advised patients or the public not to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

On Thursday, he told the crowd: “Don’t ever get a genetic shot again,”and said the COVID-19 vaccines should be “pulled immediately.”

“Stop all these shots,” he said. “Not just for COVID – for flu, for RSV, for anything and everything.”

In a text message to the Statesman, Cole said that “all of my claims are backed by data.”

Cole has not faced disciplinary action in Idaho. The Idaho Board of Medicine is regulated by strict privacy laws, and complaints and investigations are confidential unless the board takes action against a physician.

At a Capitol Clarity event last year, lawmakers advocated for a bill to make it a misdemeanor for doctors to administer mRNA vaccines, which include the common Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

The Freedom Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.