Activists are voicing concerns over the election of a Dallas-based doctor as the next Texas Medical Association chairman of the board, due to his past record of defending vaccine mandate policies and “neutrality” on protections for child gender mutilation.
“The country’s largest state medical society, Texas Medical Association, just elected John Carlo as Chairman of the Board,” posted Dr. Mary Talley Bowden. “Carlo is CEO of Prism Health, which focuses on HIV and transgender care.”
Dr. John Carlo has sat on Texas Medical Association’s Board of Trustees since 2022 and has served as the chair of the councils of Socioeconomics, Science and Public Health, and Legislation. He also served on the TMA COVID-19 Task Force.
According to his bio on the TMA website, one of his initial aspirations that he continues to dedicate himself to is “to ensure that we protect all physician-patient relationships against government and business intrusion.”
“Every physician should be able to practice medicine at the highest standards, using the latest medical evidence without fear of being criminalized.”
In 2021, Carlo testified before the House State Affairs Committee, speaking against legislation that would have given legal protections to individuals who claimed exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine requirements.
Although Carlo told the committee that TMA does not support vaccine mandates, he argued that the legislature should “allow all employers – both public and private – to make independent decisions regarding vaccination policy for their own workforces and patrons” in regards to the COVID-19 vaccination.
Video footage from the committee hearing in 2021 shows Carlo testifying before the committee that “this country would not have existed without vaccine mandates.” He continued to argue that U.S. forces would not have beaten the British during the Revolutionary War had General George Washington not issued a vaccine mandate at the time smallpox was hitting the troops.
Carlo has served as CEO of Prism Health of North Texas since 2012, which boasts of being one of the largest community-based health care organizations offering HIV prevention and treatment and LGBT primary care services.
Its website highlights services offered to “meet our LGBTQIA+ community’s diverse health needs,” which include pediatric, hormonal, and primary care services.
Kera News reported that Carlo testified in 2023 on legislation that sought to protect children from gender mutilation, saying that the TMA was neutral on the proposal. This differed from the group’s message the previous year, at which time it said that “actions involving gender-affirming care would ‘create barriers in access to care for transgender adolescents, a vulnerable population that already faces barriers in access to care.’”
Carlo has also served in leadership positions for the American Medical Association and Dallas County Medical Society, currently serving on the Council on Science and Public Health.
According to its website, “the TMA Board of Trustees manages business and financial affairs of the association, implements policies of the House of Delegates, establishes interim policy of the association between meetings of the house, and monitors program activities of association councils and committees.”
