Scott Morrison Slams 'Stupid' Australians Getting Medical Advice 'From Facebook'

Australia is eagerly waiting any coronavirus vaccine candidate to get approved for mass use.

It's hoped the jab will help return life to normal, open the borders, refresh the economy and allow us to do the things we were doing before the pandemic.

However, plenty of Aussies have been spreading misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine on social media and the Prime Minister has now offered his thoughts.

During a press conference, Scott Morrison said: "I don't suggest that people take their medical advice from Facebook or Twitter. I think that would be pretty stupid to do that, and I know Australians aren't stupid.

"Always go to the official voice, always go to your doctor, always go to the medical advice, not to social media."

He said Australian regulators won't be under any pressure to fast track the vaccine as he's happy to watch how it plays out in America and the UK.

PA

British people have been among the first in the world to get access to the jab after health authorities conducted an emergency approval of the drug.

Scott Morrison has resisted calls for Australia to do the same, purely because the threat of the coronavirus isn't the same as it currently is in Europe or the US.

"We want to ensure that Australians... have absolute full confidence that when it gets the tick, they can get the jab," Mr Morrison said.

"We are aware of what is happening in other nations... We have a front-row seat as they go through that.

"Overseas, vaccination is the only thing they've got, frankly to address [the level] of the virus in the community.

"Australia is not in that situation."

He was backed up by Secretary of the Department of Health, Professor Brendan Murphy, who agreed that regulators should be allowed to take their time with approving each vaccine candidate.

"We are not in the position of having to do emergency use registration for a vaccine, which is how the Pfizer vaccine has been reached in those countries," he said.

Australia has ordered 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will only be enough for five million people as you need the injection twice. Following the news that the University of Queensland's vaccine trial had to be abandoned, Mr Morrison said the country has ordered more doses of both the AstraZeneca and Novavax candidates.

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie