WITH general practitioners working hard to implement vaccine rollouts for covid and influenza, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is urging Australians to rely on trusted sources of information when it comes to vaccinations, not social media.
According to a recent study by ANU, the number of Australians unwilling to take the covid vaccine have risen sharply from 8 per cent to 13 per cent from August 2020 to January 2021. In the same time frame, those hesitant to receive the jab has also risen from 5 per cent to 7 per cent.
This has led RACGP president Dr Karen Price to remind patients of the importance of seeking expert medical advice.
“General practice passing the 1 million milestone for COVID-19 vaccinations is a historic achievement,” she says.
“We should be celebrating it and thanking those on the frontline and the patients who’ve come forward and put their hand up to protect themselves and their community.
“However, we know that rapidly circulating misinformation about vaccinations, particularly on social media, remains a serious threat to our community.
“We can and must all do our bit to fight misinformation about vaccines.”
Ms Price, in the middle of World Immunisation Week (April 24-30), is urging Australians to remind their family, friends and colleagues about what vaccines have done.
“For over 200 years, vaccines have protected our community against some of the world’s worst diseases, including polio and smallpox,” she says.
“We take it for granted that such terrible diseases are no longer a threat in Australia, but we shouldn’t.”
Because of vaccine hesitancy, patients in Australia are succumbing to diseases that shouldn’t need to be dealt with, says Ms Price.
“We have readily available measles vaccines, yet in 2019 some 286 measles cases were notified – nearly three times higher than the previous year,” she says.
“I strongly encourage patients who are feeling uncertain about vaccinations to turn to their GP. Your GP will give you expert medical advice that’s personalised, according to your unique health history, any current concerns, or medications.
“There’s a lot of misinformation out there, so please don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any concerns, no question is wrong.”
Who can be trusted?
In a world of spin and confusion, there’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in Canberra.
If you trust our work online and want to enforce the power of independent voices, I invite you to make a small contribution.
Every dollar of support is invested back into our journalism to help keep citynews.com.au strong and free.
Thank you,
Ian Meikle, editor
Leave a Reply