Cranston Dentist Openly Defied COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate: RIDOH

Cranston RI

04 October, 2021

10:49 AM

Description

CRANSTON, RI — A Cranston dentist was ordered to stop practicing Friday after he flagrantly violated the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health care workers, the Rhode Island Department of Health said. On Friday, Dr. Nicole Alexander Scott, the director of the department, issued a compliance order to Dr. Stephen Skoly, saying he knowingly violated the requirement that all health care workers in the state receive the COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1, or face disciplinary action. According to the order, Skoly "stated that he was not vaccinated, did not meet the medical exemption incorporated in the regulation and that he intended to directly engage in patient care or activity in which he or others would potentially be exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted from person to person," citing video recordings or public statements and an article from the Providence Journal published that same day. "The facts set forth above constitute reasonable grounds to believe that [Skoly] is in violation of [the vaccine mandate] and subject to disciplinary action," the order continued. Skoly was ordered to stop practice as a health care provider until he becomes compliant with the mandate. Related: Another RI Lawmaker Reverses Criticism Of Vaccine Mandate