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South Dakota nurses cast doubt on colleague's viral story broadcast on CNN about COVID-19 patients using their dying breaths to insist the virus is a hoax

  A  South Dakota  nurse made headlines around the country last week after she appeared on CNN and described seeing COVID-19 patients use th...

 South Dakota nurse made headlines around the country last week after she appeared on CNN and described seeing COVID-19 patients use their dying breaths to insist that the pandemic is a hoax. 

But now Jodi Doering's story has been called into question by a journalist, David Zweig, who said he spoke to other nurses in Doering's area who said they hadn't seen or heard of anything like what she claimed she'd experienced 'so many' times. 

In a Wired article entitled 'Are COVID Patients Gasping "It Isn't Real" As They Die?', Zweig accused CNN of failing to put in any effort to verify Doering's claims before it gave her air time on November 16.  

Zweig said he called a number of hospitals near Doering's hometown of Woonsocket to ask other nurses about the disturbing 'deranged denialism' phenomenon she spoke about - and couldn't find anyone with similar experiences. 

That was even the case at Huron Regional Medical Center, one of the four facilities where Doering works, Zweig claimed. 

He said the center's VP for communications and marketing, Kim Rieger, spoke to several nurses at his requests to get their reactions to Doering's interview and none of them said they'd had COVID-19 patients who denied having the virus.  

'I have not experienced this, nor have I been told of this experience, ever,' one of the nurses told Rieger, according to Zweig. 

'Most patients are grateful, and thankful for our help,' another nurse said.  

Zweig emphasized that his findings do no prove that Doering's account is untrue.  

'But,' he wrote, 'it provides, at minimum, some important context that was completely absent from the CNN interview and from all the media amplification that followed.

'Little or no effort was made to assess the scope of the problem that Doering so memorably described. 

'How many Covid-19 patients in South Dakota are really so blinkered by disinformation that they're enraged at their caregivers and, in their final moments on earth, still dispute what's happening? No one bothered to find out.' 

Nurse Jodi Doering made headlines nationwide last week after she appeared on CNN and described seeing COVID-19 patients use their dying breaths to insist that the virus is a hoax. But now her story has been called into question by other nurses in South Dakota who said they hadn't seen or heard of anything like what she claimed she'd witnessed 'so many' times

Nurse Jodi Doering made headlines nationwide last week after she appeared on CNN and described seeing COVID-19 patients use their dying breaths to insist that the virus is a hoax. But now her story has been called into question by other nurses in South Dakota who said they hadn't seen or heard of anything like what she claimed she'd witnessed 'so many' times

In a Wired article, journalist David Zweig (pictured) claimed he'd spoken to several nurses who work near Doering who said they haven't seen or heard of anything like she described

In a Wired article, journalist David Zweig (pictured) claimed he'd spoken to several nurses who work near Doering who said they haven't seen or heard of anything like she described

Doering was invited for an interview on CNN's New Day after sharing her experiences treating COVID-19 patients in a Twitter thread days earlier. 

She described how she'd encountered many people who were in denial about the virus, willing to believe almost anything else had made them sick.  

'I think the hardest thing to watch is that people are still looking for something else and they want a magic answer, and they don't want to believe that COVID is real,' she  said. 

'People want it to be influenza, they want it to be pneumonia, we've even had people say: "I think it could be lung cancer."


'Even after the positive test results come back, they still don't want to believe it.'

Doering added that, in some cases, her patients’ dying words have been: 'This can't be happening, it's not real.'

She said she would ask the dying patients if they wanted her to help them call their loved ones, and they would shrug off the gesture, insisting that they're fine.


However, she said she would see their oxygen levels dropping lower and lower, knowing things weren't looking 'fine'.

'And when they should be spending time FaceTime-ing their families, they're just filled with anger and hatred. I just can't believe those are their last words,' Doering added.

Doering said the delusions of some patients is taking a toll on health-care workers across the state.

'It's like a movie where the credits never roll,' she said. 'And it's hard and sad, because every hospital, every nurse, every doctor in the state is seeing the same things.

'There's people get sick the same way, you treat them in the same way, they die in the same way and then you do it over again.' 

Zweig said nurses at Huron Regional Medical Center (pictured), one of the four facilities where Doering works, claimed they haven't seen COVID-19 patients who denied having the virus

Zweig said nurses at Huron Regional Medical Center (pictured), one of the four facilities where Doering works, claimed they haven't seen COVID-19 patients who denied having the virus

She also noted that, as a healthcare professional, the last thing they think about regarding their patients is whether they're a Democrat or a Republican. She said they focus only on how they can best help them.

'Anybody who uses any chance to make this political makes any healthcare provider want to scream. Because at the end of the day, we just want to help,' she said. 

'And if we don't get some help from the public as far as mask wearing and social distancing, there's a thing on the internet right now that says: "I'm not the first line of defense, I'm the last line of defense." And it's true in South Dakota.

'By the time you get to me, and the team we work with, it might be too late for some, and that is heartbreaking,' Doering continued.

While Doering portrayed her experience as synonymous with most other healthcare workers in the US - Zweig's article suggests that is not the case. 

And Zweig isn't the only one criticizing CNN for its perceived failure to validate Doering's claims. 

The National Review said it looked into Doering's story and was unable to find any nurses who could support it.  

NewsBusters, a watchdog organization that analyzes liberal media bias, also checked into the story and concluded that CNN had spent just 23 minutes and 38 seconds covering Doering's claims.  

'Of course, CNN has yet to air an acknowledgment or correction because, when there's a narrative to push, CNN subscribes to the mantra of if it rings true, it is true,' NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck said. 

Neither Doering nor CNN had returned DailyMail.com's requests for comment on the controversy at the time this article was published.  

Zweig emphasized that his findings do no prove that Doering's account is untrue. 'But,' he wrote, 'it provides, at minimum, some important context that was completely absent from the CNN interview and from all the media amplification that followed. Little or no effort was made to assess the scope of the problem that Doering so memorably described'

Zweig emphasized that his findings do no prove that Doering's account is untrue. 'But,' he wrote, 'it provides, at minimum, some important context that was completely absent from the CNN interview and from all the media amplification that followed. Little or no effort was made to assess the scope of the problem that Doering so memorably described'

South Dakota is one of the nation's worst coronavirus hot spots, but the state's Gov Kristi Noem has routinely played down the severity of the virus and has refused to put a mask mandate or any substantial lockdown measures in place.

Along with North Dakota, the two states are considered the new US epicenter of the virus, recording the fastest moving per-capita case numbers in the nation, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University and the states' own health departments.

South Dakota has recorded 70,127 confirmed cases and at least 821 deaths as of Tuesday, the state's tracker shows. Its hospital system is currently at 20 percent capacity, while ICU beds are at 49.5 percent capacity. 

'We're managing our patient loads, here right now ... but the reality is, it's not getting better,' Doering told CNN.

South Dakota's positivity rate is estimated at 50 percent to 60 percent, she said. 'We have 880,000 people — it doesn't take much to do the math on that to figure out how many of us are sick.'

South Dakota is one of the nation¿s worst coronavirus hot spots, but the state¿s Gov. Kristi Noem (above) has routinely played down the severity of the virus and has refused to put a mask mandate or any substantial lockdown measures in place

South Dakota is one of the nation’s worst coronavirus hot spots, but the state’s Gov. Kristi Noem (above) has routinely played down the severity of the virus and has refused to put a mask mandate or any substantial lockdown measures in place

South and North Dakota are considered the new US epicenter of the virus, recording the fastest moving per-capita case numbers in the nation, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University and the states' own health departments

South and North Dakota are considered the new US epicenter of the virus, recording the fastest moving per-capita case numbers in the nation, according to data tracked by Johns Hopkins University and the states' own health departments

South Dakota has recorded 70,127 confirmed cases and at least 821 deaths as of Tuesday, the state's tracker shows. Its hospital system is currently at 20 percent capacity, while ICU beds are at 49.5 percent capacity

South Dakota has recorded 70,127 confirmed cases and at least 821 deaths as of Tuesday, the state's tracker shows. Its hospital system is currently at 20 percent capacity, while ICU beds are at 49.5 percent capacity


Doering's appearance on New Day came just two days after she penned a thread of tweets, lifting the lid on the apparent COVID-denial among a number of her sickest patients.

She began the thread by saying she had a night off from the hospital, but that still a number of patients remained on her mind.

'As I'm on my couch with my dog I can't help but think of the Covid patients the last few days,' the nurse wrote.

'The ones that stick out are those who still don't believe the virus is real. The ones who scream at you for a magic medicine and that Joe Biden is Going to ruin the USA. All while gasping for breath on 100% Vapotherm [oxygen],' she wrote.

'They tell you there must be another reason they are sick. They call you names and ask why you have to wear all that "stuff" because they don't have COVID because it's not real. Yes. This really happens.'

She continued: 'These people really think this isn't going to happen to them. And then they stop yelling at you when they get intubated. It's like a f***ing horror movie that never ends. There's no credits that roll. You just go back and do it all over again.'

Coronavirus cases in the US have topped 100,000 on a daily basis for 20 days in a row.  

In total, more than 12.54 million Americans have been infected and 259,045 have died of COVID-19. 

With 85,836 people hospitalized as of Tuesday, there are now 30 percent more people being treated for COVID-19 in US facilities than were at the previous peak of 59,499 hospitalizations in April.

Doering¿s appearance on New Day came just two days after she penned a thread of tweets, lifting the lid on the apparent COVID-denial among a number of her sickest patients

Doering’s appearance on New Day came just two days after she penned a thread of tweets, lifting the lid on the apparent COVID-denial among a number of her sickest patients

Coronavirus cases in the US have topped 100,000 on a daily basis for 13 days in a row and nearly 70,000 people are currently hospitalized for the infection across the country

Coronavirus cases in the US have topped 100,000 on a daily basis for 13 days in a row and nearly 70,000 people are currently hospitalized for the infection across the country

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