Following up with doctor who pushed to reopen California weeks ago

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – Two doctors in the Bakersfield area that wanted the California shelter-in-place order to be lifted two weeks ago have made a lot of headlines recently.

Dr. Dan Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi own and run, Accelerated Urgent Care, an urgent care facility in Kern County.

Since that time, their message has been viewed millions of times online, and was even removed from YouTube.

Dr. Erikson joined Good Morning San Diego to give an update on what life has been like since the trending press release video.

Recently, The American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) released a statement that said the two organizations “jointly and emphatically condemn the recent opinions released by Dr. Daniel Erickson and Dr. Artin Massihi. These reckless and untested musings do not speak for medical society and are inconsistent with current science and epidemiology regarding COVID-19. As owners of local urgent care clinics, it appears these two individuals are releasing biased, non-peer reviewed data to advance their personal financial interests without regard for the public’s health.”

Accelerated Urgent Care responded with a release of their own that said “Accelerated has been serving Kern county for 8 years.  Our company has supported many nonprofit organizations in Kern county. We have worked hard for the veterans association and started the convenient care pilot program. Our veterans are now able to get care at private medical facilities in Kern County.  We are not interested in bickering with medical institutions. Accelerated is focused on solutions and caring for our patients with the highest level of compassion and integrity. Accelerated has been a leader in giving testing results to Kern County to help treat and manage Covid 19 illness.”