The Minnesota Board of Medical Practice has taken action against an Eden Prairie pediatrician for telling parents that childhood vaccines are not safe for kids.
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The state medical board said that Dr. Robert Zajac engaged in “unethical or improper conduct” and knowingly provided “false or misleading information” which related to patient care directly, the Star Tribune reported.
The complaints against Zajac date back to 2017, and some were filed by physicians. Some said that Zajac was not giving information on evidence-based medicine and that he was “actively encouraging parents not to vaccinate their children.”
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Other complaints said that he overstated the risk to children who received routine childhood shots and delayed parents from getting their kids vaccinated.
Zajac estimated that 20% of his pediatric patients did not receive the recommended shots given at a child’s two-month visit. This information came out while the board’s complaint review committee interviewed him in August of 2019.
Routine shots at two months include polio, hepatitis B, varicella and measles, mumps, and rubella.
Zajac’s New Kingdom Healthcare has several locations, according to its website.
In an attempt to stop the board’s investigation, Zajac went to federal court, claiming that his free speech and due process rights were being violated. However, a judge dismissed the lawsuit in February.
A settlement was reached in May and approved in July by the board.
“I think there has been great work at resolving this,” Brad Haddy, Zajac’s attorney, said, the Tribune reported. “These things are not always easy, but I think this agreement creates an understanding and expectation for Dr. Zajac as he continues his practice.”
The settlement included Zajac paying a $10,000 fine and taking a course on medical ethics, communicable diseases, professional boundaries, and patient communication.
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On FaceBook, Zajac thanked the board for finding common ground in his case.
“I still have my medical license, unrestricted. I can still see patients, serve the community, and keep moving and going where God is bringing me,” his post on social media said. “Still allowed to speak my heart in public, and will continue to provide Informed Consent with open, honest dialogues regarding health and medical freedom issues.”
Zajac told board investigators that he did recommend the CDC’s vaccine schedule, but the clinic’s website said it was a “non judgment clinic” about other schedules.
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Zajac also told the board committee that when parents asked about vaccine safety, he used statements made from an interview on an anti-vaccine website.
“The vaccinated kids are the sickest; the partially vaccinated kids are not as sick; and the unvaccinated kids are the healthiest,” Zajac said according to the court filing.
Now, Zajac has agreed he will remove the information from his website that was critical of vaccine safety through research done by the CDC and the language that promotes other vaccine schedules.
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