Host: Dr. Kat Lindley Guests: Dr. Kirk Moore
What happens when a doctor prioritizes his oath over government policy?
This week, IMA Senior Fellow Dr. Kat Lindley hosts a powerful conversation with Dr. Kirk Moore, the Utah-based physician recently cleared of all charges after being accused of falsifying COVID-19 vaccine records. In this wide-ranging interview, Dr. Moore shares his personal story and explains what led him to stand against federal mandates during the pandemic.
Together, they examine the deeper questions around the ethics of mandates. What happens when medicine becomes beholden to bureaucracy? From the collapse of informed consent to the growing threat of censorship and coercion, this webinar explores why the doctor-patient relationship must always come first.
Dr. Kirk Moore faced 35 years in federal prison for refusing to comply with COVID vaccine mandates. Then, after three days of witness testimony in July 2025, federal prosecutors dropped all charges. US Attorney General Pam Bondi said “Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so… He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing.”
Before he became embroiled in controversy, Dr. Moore spent his career as a physician and was also a former Navy flight surgeon. After helping patients to evade vaccine mandates, he was targeted by federal prosecution that seemed designed to intimidate other doctors into compliance. In today’s webinar, we meet Dr. Moore and hear the story in his words. Dr. Moore is certainly an inspiring figure, but don’t take our word for it—ask his son Michael:
“My father is a doctor, he is a veteran and he is my hero… He didn’t just take an oath as a doctor, he lived it every day. He fought to protect his patients, to heal the sick, to comfort the suffering.”
Dr. Moore sits down with Dr. Kat Lindley to share his journey from compliance to resistance, the devastating personal cost, and his ultimate vindication. Watch the full conversation above, then read the key insights below.
The Rapid Awakening: When the Narrative Cracked
Like many physicians in March 2020, Dr. Moore initially followed the prescribed COVID response. He closed his practice and bought into the alarming reports. But within days, he knew something was off.
“By Wednesday evening, Thursday morning at the latest, I had done a complete 180. I realized that this was nothing but just a fake narrative.”
What triggered this dramatic shift? The “no treatment” directive that violated everything he understood about medicine.
“That first red flag for me was ‘there’s no treatment.’ And when’s the last time that we as physicians just don’t treat people with the illness? You don’t just send them home and tell them to come back when they’re dying.”
Dr. Moore identified three strikes against the official narrative:
- The unprecedented directive to provide no treatment;
- The eerie global coordination (“200 plus countries in the world do the exact same thing”);
- The declaration that normalcy required mass vaccination of the entire world’s population
His personal history with vaccine injury—developing shingles from a hepatitis B vaccine in medical school—had already made him cautious. But it was the mandate aspect that crossed his ethical line. When patients faced losing jobs, travel restrictions, and school exclusions without vaccination, he felt compelled to act.
“I just did what was right… it wasn’t for notoriety, it wasn’t for fame, it wasn’t for money, it wasn’t for anything other than I just felt it was the right thing to do.”
The Breakdown of Informed Consent
As a surgeon who meticulously documents risks and benefits for every procedure, Dr. Moore was shocked by what he discovered about COVID vaccine safety information.
“The first thing for me informed consent is having a piece of paper that says intentionally left blank on it. How are you supposed to know what it is that you’re injecting into these people?”
The safety data sheets for Pfizer, Moderna, and J&J vaccines literally said “intentionally left blank” on both sides. Healthcare providers were being asked to inject patients with products for which no safety data was provided.
This represented a fundamental shift from traditional medicine, where physicians relied on clinical experience, mentorship, and careful evaluation of individual patient factors. Instead, they were expected to follow directives from bureaucrats who had never treated patients.
The erosion went deeper. The very definition of vaccines was changed in September 2021, shifting from providing “immunity” to merely producing “an immune response.” As Dr. Moore noted, this shifting definition was so broad that even saline injections could theoretically qualify.
Individual Patients vs. Mandates
Dr. Moore maintained an unwavering focus on individual patient care, rejecting the population-based approach of public health mandates.
“I don’t think there is a concept of public health. I think public health comes from taking care of your patient that’s right there in front of you… As a physician, we take care of the patient that’s in front of us. And in turn, that will take care of the public.”
This philosophy directly challenged the one-size-fits-all approach of COVID mandates. Rather than treating patients as individuals with unique circumstances and medical needs, the system demanded universal solutions regardless of individual risk factors or personal values. Recent research has proven the vaccine is not a “one-size-fits-all” solution, and some people are more susceptible to vaccine adverse events than others.
The real trouble with all of this is that the COVID vaccines failed even by their own stated goals. They neither prevented infection nor transmission, as later acknowledged by pharmaceutical executives who admitted they “never tested for transmission” because they were “working at the speed of science.”
From Persecution to Vindication
Dr. Moore spent 34 days in jail, watched his practice crumble, and faced financial ruin. The federal government sought up to 35 years in prison for fraud, conspiracy, and counterfeiting charges. This wasn’t just prosecution—it was intimidation.
“This was a sentinel case for them. They wanted to show people like you and me and show other doctors, hey, we have the power here. And you are going to do what we tell you to do or else.”
Dr. Moore was anxiously awaiting his trial’s continuation when his attorney called with unprecedented news.
“First words out of her mouth was, I just got off the phone with the prosecutors… they are dismissing your case. And I just, I literally collapsed on the floor, crying.”
The dismissal was extraordinary—federal cases are rarely dropped mid-prosecution. But it wasn’t entirely surprising given the groundswell of support building around Dr. Moore’s case. His son’s speech defending him had garnered 1.7 million views, Marjorie Taylor Greene was publicly demanding justice, Thomas Massie posted his support, and RFK Jr. weighed in. Combined with rallies and media coverage, the mounting pressure appeared to make continuation of the case untenable.
Michael Moore speaking at a rally in support of his father Dr. Kirk Moore
The Path Forward
Dr. Moore’s vindication represents more than personal victory. It demonstrates that public engagement can check prosecutorial overreach and highlights a broader awakening—surveys now show 60% of pregnant women and young mothers are questioning vaccines, compared to perhaps 5% before 2020.
His message is both simple and profound:
“Just know what it is that you’re talking about. So do your own research… Stand for your principles.”
Dr. Moore’s final piece of advice, learned from a mentor decades ago, cuts to the heart of personal responsibility:
“No one looks out for you like you. You’ve got to realize that you’re the only person that’s going to look out for your own best interest.”
His story offers no easy answers, but it provides something equally valuable: proof that individual conscience can prevail against institutional pressure. In an era when experts demanded blind obedience, one physician’s refusal to comply may have helped preserve the possibility of medicine that puts patients first.
