Dr Norman Swan has been told to “just please stop” with the “scaremongering”, after the ABC’s health expert advised Aussies to mask up at Christmas and get the latest booster amid a new Covid wave.
“Can someone please tell my mate Dr Norman Swan, just to beat it,” 2GB host Chris O’Keefe said on Thursday. “Just beat it, honestly. Hey Norman, we’re over the Covid scaremongering, please, and we’ve been over it for years.”
Infections are rising across Australia with Omicron sub variants EG.5 (Eris) and BA. 2.86 (Pirola) the current threats. In NSW alone, Covid-19 numbers have increased by 20 per cent in the past fortnight.
Two new Covid vaccines — one from Moderna and another from Pfizer — have just been approved for use in Australia and should be available from December 11.
Appearing on Channel 10’s The Project on Tuesday night, the Health Report presenter was asked how people could avoid giving Covid to their loves ones these holidays.
“Stay outdoors, don’t go indoors to stuffy environments, wear masks to protect yourself, and if you’ve got symptoms like a runny nose or a cough, stay away from your relatives,” he said, joking, “It gives you a good excuse not to go to a boring party.”
Dr Swan also urged Aussies to “put their big boy pants on” and get another injection.
“About five million Australians are under-immunised,” he said.
“Really it’s about, have you had a jab in 2023? And if you haven’t had one, wait until a new one comes on stream [on December 11] and get one. But if you have had an immunisation in 2023 you don’t need another one probably until 2024, unless you’re at high risk or you’re over 75, or over 65 with risk factors.”
He conceded there was “vaccination fatigue”.
“For those of you who’ve not had a jab in 2023 — ‘Really? Another jab?’ — you know, you haven’t had a jab for quite a while … put on your big boy pants or big girl pants and go out and get one,” he said.
“A lot of people are dropping off their vaccinations, other ones that they should be getting as well, so there is vaccination fatigue, you’re absolutely right, but if you look at emergency department presentations, 35 per cent of people coming with Covid are admitted. This is not a mild virus and death rates are going back up again.”
Asked if getting the new vaccine was like getting a “new iPhone”, Dr Swan said “unless you’re an anti-vaxxer and you think you’re being injected with something electronic, no”. “It’s just an up-to-date vaccine,” he said.
“It’s actually only got one version of the virus in it, the last one had two versions, this one’s got the latest version which is … the version of the virus that’s mostly around in Australia at the moment.”
Speaking on 2GB, O’Keefe said Dr Swan sounded just liked NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
“Can we just drop off this stuff?” he said.
“It feels like we’re back in 2020 when you hear Dr Norman Swan, doesn’t it? Listen, Dr Swan, please, just give it away. Enough. Most of us have had Covid once, maybe twice, maybe two or three times. And you know what? We’re all still here to tell the tale. We know ourselves as individuals, and we’ll make the decision to go and get vaxxed, depending on whether or not we think we are particularly vulnerable.”
He added, “This wave if you knew it was on, it’s due to peter out by Christmas. But honestly, Norman, we get it. Nobody is chucking a mask on as they try and eat their turkey or ham, and the more you carry on like this the more damage you’re doing to your credibility. Can you please just stop? Enough is enough.”
Federal Health Department figures indicate a sharp rise in vaccinations in recent weeks, suggesting Australians are concerned about Covid in the lead-up to Christmas.
University of New South Wales’ School of Population Health Associate Professor Holly Seale told the ABC last week recent coverage of fresh Covid waves may have prompted people to get their vaccines up-to-date.
“So certainly that’s leading some people going and getting vaccinated, and of course GPs have been activated to have these conversations, especially with people who are most at risk,” Prof Seale said.
Nationally, 89 per cent of eligible Australians haven’t had a Covid vaccine or booster in the last six months.
“There is still a large number of people who need to catch up with their booster vaccines,” Professor Seale said.
“The conversations now around Covid have shifted dramatically and I think there’s a lot of uncertainty around timing of the vaccines [and] eligibility. But it’s also been around risk — what people actually perceive as their risk of Covid.”
This week, NSW Health’s director of communicable diseases Christine Selvey warned the latest wave is likely to peak at Christmas for “the third year in a row”.
“Nobody has a crystal ball, but the modelling that we do have suggests that the increase will continue up through and into December,” Dr Selvey said.
— with Benedict Brook