California Medical Association President Peter N. Bretan Jr., M.D., today issued the following statement in response to recent statements from President Trump about physicians and COVID-19:

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has infected millions of Americans, physicians across the country have responded heroically, putting their own personal safety and self-interest aside in service to their patients. President Trump’s recent false and dangerous assertions that physicians are inflating COVID-19 infection numbers for financial gain is offensive and categorically untrue. False statements like these are a slap in the face to those who have served bravely over the last several months amid a raging pandemic that is still out of control and is on the rise around the country. The health and well-being of millions of Americans have become unnecessarily and dangerously politicized. While we are at the apex of a long and stressful political season, we must be able to make public policy decisions in the interest of public health and safety that are guided by science and protecting communities across the country.”