Dr. James Miller Claims Hospital Chief Worked With State to Tie Driver’s Licenses to COVID-19 Vaccination Status

Adriana Stone 0 2 min read

Dr. James Miller Claims Hospital Chief Worked With State to Tie Driver’s Licenses to COVID-19 Vaccination Status

A trauma surgeon who worked at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, told Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-WI) Senate roundtable Monday that the hospital’s infectious disease chief discussed using vaccination status to restrict basic civil rights. The hospital treated the first diagnosed COVID-19 patient in the United States in January 2020.

Dr. James P. Miller made the allegation during Johnson’s roundtable, COVID-19 Hospital Protocols: Real Stories from Real People.

“The head of infectious disease medicine at my hospital privately told me that he was working with the state government to restrict the civil rights of unvaccinated people,” Miller said. He added, “Including their ability to drive and therefore work, by making their driver’s license renewal contingent on their COVID vaccine status.”

In a sworn attestation he previously filed for criminal investigations, Miller identified that official as Dr. George Diaz. Miller said Diaz told him unvaccinated people should not be allowed to engage in society or hold a driver’s license. He also said Diaz claimed he was working with the Washington governor’s office to turn that position into state policy.

Those remain Miller’s allegations. Diaz was the public face of Everett’s response to the first diagnosed U.S. case and an early champion of remdesivir.

Miller served as a staff surgeon and ICU provider at the hospital. He also worked independently on ICU quality reviews while carrying out his surgical and intensive-care duties. He told Johnson’s panel that those reviews uncovered fraud extending to senior hospital leadership. After he reported his findings, Miller said retaliation began.

He also challenged the hospital’s COVID-19 protocols. Miller said the procedures caused demonstrable harm and increased mortality. After federal authorities provided remdesivir to the hospital, he said medical leadership provided physicians with misleading and inaccurate information about the drug.

Miller described one young trauma patient who appeared to be a perfect candidate for remdesivir under the official guidelines. He said the infectious disease doctor on call privately told him not to give it to her because, according to Miller, “she seemed like a nice girl.”

Miller further testified, “Any physician honestly reviewing the real-world data at that time could have recognized early that remdesivir caused more harm than good.”

His testimony also targeted the hospital’s public messaging. Miller said he observed messaging that falsely inflated COVID-19 infections and deaths, fueling public fear and producing misleading headlines.

He said that, in his experience, the hospital never faced shortages of equipment or staff. In his account, nurses were sent home because there were not enough patients, even as headlines described the facility as overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.

Miller’s testimony presents a sharp challenge to the public narrative surrounding the hospital’s early pandemic response. His claims cover alleged policy coordination with state officials, disputed treatment guidance, hospital reporting, and retaliation after internal concerns were raised. The account provided here does not establish those allegations independently, but it places them directly before a Senate audience.

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