On Dec. 3, 2020, the Oregon Medical Board issued an "emergency order" to suspend the license of Dr. Paul Thomas, a pediatrician, who along with science writer Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D., co-authored "The Vaccine-Friendly Plan."

Affectionately known by his patients and peers as "Dr. Paul," Thomas was accused by the board of posing a threat to public health by pushing parents to accept his alternative vaccine schedule rather than the routine childhood vaccine schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The apparent impetus for the "emergency" meeting, however, was the publication just days prior of a study showing that compared with his vaccinated patients, those patients who received no vaccines have significantly lower incidence of diagnoses and office visits for a broad range of chronic health conditions — including asthma, allergies, eczema, dermatitis, hives, anemia, eye disorders, ear infections, respiratory infections, other infections, breathing issues, behavioral issues, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Thomas obtained institutional review board approval to use his de-identified patient data for research and publication of the study, which was co-authored by James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D.

The study population consisted of all patients born into his practice. Titled "Relative Incidence of Office Visits and Cumulative Rates of Billed Diagnoses Along the Axis of Vaccination," it was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on Nov. 22, 2020.