Doctors,nurses and pharmacists who spread COVID anti-vaccination claims will face harsh penalties,including being stripped of their ability to practise,by the medical watchdog.
The national medical boards and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulatory Agency (AHPRA) released a joint directive warning healthcare practitioners that they risk regulatory action if they spout false or deceptive misinformation to patients or on social media that could undermine the national vaccination program as the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout begins.
“There is no place for anti-vaccination messages in professional health practice,and any promotion of anti-vaccination claims including on social media,and advertising may be subject to regulatory action,” spokesman for the medical boards and Pharmacy Board chairman Brett Simmonds said.
The joint statement was supported by every national health professional board,including the medical,nursing and midwifery,pharmacy,dental,chiropractic,Chinese medicine,paramedicine and osteopathy boards of Australia.
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In September,AHPRA and the boards confirmed they had received complaints about doctors and other healthcare workers spreading anti-vaccination messages and COVID conspiracy theories in semi-private social media groups in direct contravention of laws that prohibit them from spreading false,misleading or deceptive claims.
An AHPRA spokeswoman said in a statement to theHerald that practitioners who breached national boards’ codes of conduct might be subject to investigation and other action on a case-by-case basis.
“Practitioners have a responsibility to promote the health of the community through disease prevention and control,” the spokeswoman said.
“National Boards’ codes of conduct require practitioners to ensure that personal views not affect the patients or clients adversely,” she said.