Florida doctor who is REFUSING to treat unvaccinated patients in person insists she is not violating her Hippocratic Oath and says policy will 'benefit the sick'

• Dr. Linda Marraccini denies she's in breach of her oath of ethics as a medical professional and argues that she is 'applying this to the benefit of the sick' 
• The doctor plans to treat patients who are not vaccinated against Covid-19 through virtual meetings instead, beginning September 15
• She states that the policy is intended to protect patients who are immunocompromised, saying it's 'not fair' for them to be exposed to the virus
• The shift in medical policy comes as the state is grappling with its worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic
• It also may come into conflict with the state's vaccine passport ban, which bars businesses from requiring proof of vaccination or otherwise risk a fine 
• So far about 53.5 percent of the Florida's population has been fully vaccinated 

A Florida doctor who declared that she will no longer treat patients face-to-face if they are unvaccinated against Covid-19 insists that she's not in breach of her Hippocratic Oath. 

Dr. Linda Marraccini, whose practice is based in South Miami, sent a letter to her patients last month stating that from September 15 she will only treat unvaccinated patients online through virtual  appointments.

Marraccini insists that the policy is not in violation of the Hippocratic Oath, a medical code of ethics requiring doctors to treat the sick to the best of one's ability.

'The Hippocratic Oath is very science-based,' she told Newsweek. 'I am following the science. I'm applying this to the benefit of the sick.' 

While Marraccini says the decision was motivated by science and not politics, she remarked that individuals had the responsibility to help end the pandemic by getting vaccinated, telling Newsweek that it, 'did not have to go on this long.' 

'Responsibility has to do with each individual,' Marraccini added. 'This is a global health issue, and everyone owns part of that responsibility.' 

Marraccini says that she made the decision with her oath in mind, with the intent to protect the most vulnerable of her patients, whom she was fearful could be exposed to the virus at her office.

She also added that she is willing to make exceptions for people who are unable to get vaccinated or those who just need prescriptions filled, the outlet reported.

'We're not going to leave them out there in the cold,' she proclaimed. 

'It's not fair for people who are unvaccinated to harm other people,' observes Marraccini, who told Newsweek she had seen patients in person throughout the coronavirus pandemic. 

Once the policy goes into effect, she says, patients who refuse to get vaccinated will have to choose between opting for remote telemedicine treatment or finding another primary care doctor. 

The change comes amid the state's worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic, driven largely by the spread of the Indian delta variant. 

As of the last week in August, 705 new cases were being reported per 100,000 people in Florida, and the state was averaging 244 deaths from the virus per day, according to the CDC.

More than 46,000 residents of the Sunshine State have died from the virus, data from Johns Hopkins University shows. 

In a positive sign that Florida's surge might be subsiding, though, hospitalizations from Covid-19 have dropped over the past two weeks from more than 17,000 to 14,200 on Friday. 

'I understand that people are free to choose, but to me, it's a problem when it affects other people,' Marraccini told NBC 6. 

She says only about 10 to 15 percent of her patients are hesitant about taking the vaccine, and for those people she said she gave them a month to figure out their plan going forward. 

'When it comes to the safety of others, when it comes to the fact that it's a global health problem and community health problem, at this point, I really say that this is where it draws the line in the sand for me,' she told the station. 

Overall, about 53.5 percent of Florida's total population has been vaccinated. 

Additionally, nationwide, the country continues to see a surge in coronavirus cases with a seven-day moving average of 153,000 new cases over the past week, a 4.9 percent increase over the previous week. 

'There's been millions of deaths globally so that's not something to ignore. People are getting to the point where everybody knows somebody that died from COVID,' Marraccini told NBC. 

'This is a problem that really everyone needs to help out with, and it's affecting our collective communal health.' 

Her policy, however, may come into conflict with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' ban on vaccine passports, which goes into effect on September 16.

Businesses that ask for proof of vaccination may be fined up to $5,000, but in Marraccini's case the law may be hard to enforce.

'I don't believe you can treat a medical clinic the same way you can a business,' Attorney Juan Carlos Planas told NBC. 

Critically, he said, Marraccini's medical argument may protect her from legal ramifications. 

'She lays out in a medical way how exactly she wants to protect her staff and she specifically states that no medical professional has found many people who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons,' Planas said.