Boston Medical Center Denies HIV-Positive Patient Life-Saving Care Over Face Mask Dispute

While most of the country has moved on from the Covid histrionics of the past three years, some states and medical wards still refuse to live with the virus — and patients in need of life-saving treatments are paying the price.

In Boston, Massachusetts — the city where the Sons of Liberty took a stand against British absolutism in the years preceding the American Revolution — a modern-day patriot is staging his own battle against unjust tyranny. At 43 years old, a man using the pseudonym John Doe is fighting for his life in a legal battle against the Boston Medical Center (BMC), which has denied him access to life-saving medical treatment because he won’t wear a face mask during visits to the clinic.

A born and raised Bostonian, Doe was first diagnosed with HIV in April 2006 and has since been a regular patient at BMC’s Center for Infectious Diseases. Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) is part of his treatment. He takes a drug combination tablet twice daily. Semiannual visits to BMC are required for him to have his blood drawn. If Doe doesn’t attend his appointments and get his blood analyzed, his pharmacy will not refill his ART prescription.

Despite strict adherence to his treatment protocol and cordial behavior with BMC staff, Doe’s situation took a turn for the worst after the outbreak of Covid. While able to obtain his medication from the pharmacy through telehealth appointments during Massachusetts’ initial lockdown phase, the return to in-person hospital visits proved difficult after Doe chose not to wear a face mask during clinic visits.

Doe was given a mask and told by staff at BMC to wear it during his September 2021 lockdown appointment. According to The Federalist, Doe has had previous experiences with a mask. “negative medical symptoms from using face masks,” He eventually accepted, but he “felt pressured to agree to put the face mask on his face for fear of being deprived of his ART prescription.”

Doe claims that he experienced a variety of negative side effects while wearing the mask. He felt anxious and uncomfortable at times. “as if he was unable to get a full breath of air, his eyes itched, and his airway burned from the nose down to below the throat.”

“When I wear a mask, my lips break out where [they start] scabbing and peeling,” Doe shared his story with The Federalist. “Basically, I look like I just smoked [or] used drugs. … It’s really embarrassing.”

During his next visit on Feb. 9, 2022, Doe opted not to wear a mask and was denied entry into BMC’s Infectious Diseases facility. While unable to attend his appointment and get his blood analyzed, Doe managed to negotiate with his doctor and pharmacist for an additional six months’ worth of ART prescription refills.

When arriving at BMC for his appointment on Sept. 7, 2022, Doe entered the building without a face mask and proceeded to his doctor’s office

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