Coronavirus crisis: GP clinics report surging levels of abuse and threats after denying vax exemptions

Staff at GP clinics across the country are copping a rising tide of abuse, death threats, and assaults from people frustrated they are unable to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine exemption. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners on Friday said medical staff in a number of states were reporting increasingly aggressive behaviour – including an alleged violent act against a Queensland doctor – as anti-vaxxer groups encourage people to obtain permission to avoid getting a jab. However, as only a very small number of people are actually “unable” to get a vaccine, several flash points have occurred at GP clinics. The college said requests for vaccine exemptions are rejected if the condition cited is not covered by expanded guidelines released in September by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation. Furthermore, if a patient is unable to get one vaccine due to a “contraindication”, other vaccine options are usually available. But the college says refusing to issue exemptions has become increasingly fraught for doctors and staff at GP clinics, and has been followed by extremely disturbing cases of death threats, as well as abusive and threatening behaviour. “GPs, receptionists, practice nurses and other team members should not feel fear when coming to work,” said Queensland RACGP chair Dr Bruce Willett. “They should not have to be looking over their shoulders when they go to the carpark at the end of that day. “But this is the situation we are dealing with.” Nearly 93 per cent of Australians over 16 have had at least one dose of a vaccine, and 87 per cent are fully vaccinated. An overwhelming majority of medical experts, government officials, and business groups accept that vaccines are the most effective way to lessen the health impacts of the coronavirus and help prevent its spread. But the college says anti-vaxxer groups have managed to harness social media, and tap into the wider anxieties of a population that has repeatedly had its freedoms removed over the past two years. Anti-vaccine sentiment was a prominent strand in the protests that rolled out across the country last month as people expressed their lockdown frustrations with lockdown laws and general government intervention in their lives. But there was a worrying undercurrent of violence at several events, including a gallows being set up outside the Victorian parliament, and a demonstrator in Brisbane declaring that Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk be hanged. “Unfortunately, many people have succumbed to misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines,” says national college president Dr Karen Price. In Queensland, where vaccination rates have lagged states such as NSW and Victoria, a 48-year old Moranbah man is due to face court on December 9 after he allegedly punched a medical worker and pushed him to the ground when refused a vaccine exemption. “I am deeply concerned about the rising level of abuse our hardworking general practice teams are facing from people seeking vaccine exemptions in Queensland,” Dr Willett said. “Although it’s the minority of patients, and the majority are appreciative of their GPs and practice teams, who are doing the best they can in very challenging times, we cannot ignore it.” The situation is particularly charged in Queensland with a vaccine mandate by the state governments to come in on December 17 banning unvaccinated people from hospitality venues, stadiums, cinemas, hospitals and nursing homes. The Queensland Government says it is continuing to work closely with businesses and venues to ensure workers are protected after the mandate comes into effect.