As Australian health authorities continue to vaccinate citizens against the coronavirus by the thousands every day, there is a tiny portion who aren't getting the jab for whatever reason.
Home & Away actor Sam Frost recently revealed she isn't getting the vaccine after speaking with her GP and psychologist.
She copped a huge amount of backlash for the statement where she alluded to her being medically exempt from booking her vaccination appointment.
Advert
However, top Aussie experts have lifted the lid on what being medically exempt from an approved vaccine actually means.
Professor Kristine Macartney, director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance, explained how 'almost no one' will fall under that exempt category.
She told The Age the only people who will get avoid the three approved vaccines are those who are allergic Polyethylene glycol (which is found in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines) and polysorbate 80 (which is found in the AstraZeneca jab).
Advert
But before you race to get an allergy test to see if your body is opposed to those ingredients, you should know that these are apparently very common chemicals that are also found in loads of everyday products like makeup.
If you're allergic to Polyethylene glycol or polysorbate 80 then you would probably already be well aware of it.
Karen Price, president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, added that the actual number of people who can verifiably say they can't get the vaccine is 'miniscule'.
"Only a very small number of people can't get a vaccine due to what we call 'contraindications'," Dr Price told news.com.au.
Advert
"And for those people who have a contraindication to one vaccine, other vaccine options are available, so there would be a minuscule number of people who can't get any vaccine, if any."
She also shut down the rumour that people who are sick (like those with chronic illnesses or auto-immune conditions) can't get the vaccine because it might make them more ill.
"There's some reverse logic going on that needs to be clarified. They actually should be at the top of the list to get the vaccine because they're much more at risk of serious COVID outcomes," she told The Age.
Advert
Apart from allergies to the specific ingredients, Dr Price said the only other excuse not to get the jab is if the person was suffering from an acute medical condition that required major surgery or a stay in a hospital.
However, she clarified that that would only mean your vaccine appointment would just get pushed back temporarily until the acuteness had subsided.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Australia