Mary Altaffer/AP
- An Alabama doctor is refusing to treat patients who won't get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to an AL.com report.
- Dr. Jason Valentine warned patients that some who refuse the shot "end up severely ill or dead."
- Since he took his stance, he said patients have reached out asking where they can get the vaccine.
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An Alabama doctor is cutting off patients who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine in an attempt to convince more people to get the shot.
Dr. Jason Valentine, who works at Northside's Diagnostic and Medical Clinic in Saraland, Alabama, shared a photo of himself in a since-deleted Facebook post standing by a sign that read: "Effective Oct. 1, 2021, Dr. Valentine will no longer see patients that are not vaccinated against COVID-19."
"If they asked why, I told them COVID is a miserable way to die and I can't watch them die like that," he wrote in the post, AL.com reported.
If patients still refuse to get the vaccine, Valentine said in a letter to his patients, they should seek care elsewhere. According to AL.com, he posted a copy of the letter online.
"We do not yet have any great treatments for severe disease, but we do have great prevention with vaccines. Unfortunately, many have declined to take the vaccine, and some end up severely ill or dead," Valentine said in the letter. "I cannot and will not force anyone to take the vaccine, but I also cannot continue to watch my patients suffer and die from an eminently preventable disease."
"Therefore, as of October 1st, 2021, I will no longer see patients that have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. If you wish to keep me as your physician, documentation of your vaccination will suffice. If you wish to choose another physician, we will be happy to transfer your records," he concluded.
Valentine's original Facebook post appears to either have been removed or made private, according to CBS-affiliate KWTX. Northside's Diagnostic and Medical Clinic did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Valentine said on Facebook that since he shared his new policy, three people have reached out to inquire about where they can get a COVID vaccine, according to AL.com,
"No conspiracy theories, no excuses. Just where do they go," he told the news outlet.