Clive Palmer anti-vaccination flyers blasted as dangerous and misleading

Clive Palmer has been bombarding letterboxes urging people not to get the Covid-19 vaccine, and the move has been met with fiery opposition.

Anti-vaccination flyers authorised by Clive Palmer are landing in people’s letterboxes, with health authorities blasting the move as “dangerous and misleading”.

In the flyers, which have been landing in letterboxes across the country, Mr Palmer urges people not to get the Covid-19 vaccination and discredits figures on the number of deaths caused by the jabs.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) national president Chris Freeman slammed the gesture as “deeply disturbing”.

“Mr Palmer must feel quite foolish distributing this marketing material just as Australia’s largest city is on the brink of another Covid-19 outbreak,” he said.

“Never has there been a more inappropriate time to communicate such false and misleading messages.

“We are at a critical juncture in Australia’s fight against this deadly disease, and this propaganda is not only inappropriate, but totally uneducated and ill-informed.

“This is quite literally ‘junk mail’, and I’d encourage all those who receive a flyer to recycle the paper immediately.”

Clive Palmer has sent out flyers urging people not to get the Covid-19 vaccination. Picture: Gary Ramage / NCA NewsWire

In his letter, Mr Palmer claims the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and the government are spreading “misleading information designed to create fear in the population”.

“The Australian government’s Therapeutic Goods Administration report confirms 210 deaths and 24,000 adverse reactions after the Covid-19 vaccines,” it read.

“There are over 5000 deaths in the USA attributed to Covid vaccines, including Pfizer.”

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation says the risk of dying from the AstraZeneca vaccine was one in two million in Australia. Picture: Paul Jeffers / NCA NewsWire

The TGA did reveal last month that there had been 210 deaths reported to have “occurred following immunisation”, but could not confirm a link between the fatalities and the Covid-19 vaccines.

“We have two highly effective vaccines in this country, and as they become more available, it is imperative that Australians protect themselves and those close to them by getting fully vaccinated with both doses,” Mr Freeman said.

“At present, we are trying to overcome vaccine hesitancy and complacency; this simply fuels superstition and delays achieving national immunity.

“I urge Australians who have concerns about receiving the vaccination to seek information from a trusted source – such as your local pharmacist or GP.”

Australian Medical Association vice president Dr Chris Moy accused Mr Palmer of misleading Australians.

“Thanks, but no thanks Clive – this is not helpful to those who are committed to the cause,” he said.

“These flyers have upset a lot of the community which causes them to misdirect this into avoidance or outright hostility towards the vaccination program.”

It comes as Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation co-chair Christopher Blyth told a Covid-19 senate committee earlier this week the risk of dying from the AstraZeneca vaccine was one in two million, based on Australian data.

The risk of dying for people who got a blood clot as a result of the vaccine was three-four per cent, he also said.

Originally published as Clive Palmer anti-vaccination flyers blasted as dangerous and misleading