Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Masihi

Bakersfield, California Doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi from Accelerated Urgent Care held a press conference at their Coffee Road facility on April 22. They claimed their COVID testing proved the novel coronavirus had spread widely in the region and was thus less of a concern, but public health experts say they were jumping to that conclusion based on an unrepresentative sample.

Removed from YouTube

YouTube issued a statement Tuesday, April 28, 2020, regarding the removal of a video press briefing with Accelerated Urgent Care doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi. 

YouTube stated that  the video was pulled because the content contradicted the guidance of the local health authority. “We quickly remove flagged content that violate our Community Guidelines, including content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local healthy authority recommended guidance on social distancing that may lead others to act against that guidance," said the statement. "However, content that provides sufficient educational, documentary, scientific or artistic (EDSA) context is allowed -- for example, news coverage of this interview with additional context. From the very beginning of the pandemic, we’ve had clear policies against COVID-19 misinformation and are committed to continue providing timely and helpful information at this critical time.”

ACEP-AAEM Joint Statement on Physician Misinformation

Joint Statement issued on April 27, 2020:

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. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.

COVID-19 misinformation is widespread and dangerous. Members of ACEP and AAEM are first-hand witnesses to the human toll that COVID-19 is taking on our communities. ACEP and AAEM strongly advise against using any statements of Drs. Erickson and Massihi as a basis for policy and decision making.

Full Statement and Additional Information