IRVINE, Calif. (KNX) — A UC Irvine School of Medicine physician who sued the UC system claiming a “natural immunity” exemption to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate has been terminated for refusing to comply.
Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, 45, a professor of psychiatry and director of UCI Health’s medical ethics program, revealed in a blog post he was fired on Dec. 16 after 15 years spent working at the institution.
“Two years ago I never could have imagined that the university would dismiss me and other doctors, nurses, faculty, staff, and students for this arbitrary and capricious reason,” he wrote. “Everyone at the university seemed to be a fan of my work until suddenly they were not.”
Kheriaty claimed he was perceived as a “threat” for challenging the vaccine mandate. “No amount of empirical evidence about natural immunity or vaccine safety and efficacy mattered at all,” he wrote. “The university’s leadership was not interested in scientific debate or ethical deliberation.”
Kheriaty’s lawsuit against the University of California Board of Regents and system president Michael V. Drake, seeking reinstatement to regular work without having to comply with the mandate, was dismissed earlier this month. The former professor has appealed to the federal Ninth Circuit.
