Former AMA president Dr Kerryn Phelps slams Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s pandemic response

High-profile former president of the Australian Medical Association Kerryn Phelps has taken to social media to slam the Queensland Premier’s Covid response.

Former Australian Medical Association president Dr Kerryn Phelps has slammed Queensland’s pandemic response plan, saying politicians need to take the “courageous” step to enforce a mask mandate.

Dr Phelps, who was also the former deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney, said that although the Queensland Government was initially handling the pandemic “very well”, the downfall came from an over-reliance on the vaccine.

“Vaccination alone will not control the pandemic, vaccines are a part of an overall strategy,” she said.

“I think political leaders need to make that politically courageous decision and introduce a circuit breaker. There’s evidence that masks will slow transmission.”

The state’s self-responsibility approach to all preventive measures hasn’t proved effective, according to Dr Phelps, who said Queensland now needs a “fearless public campaign” for the mask mandate.

“The thing about individuals just deciding for themselves if they feel like wearing a mask to protect themselves and others, is that that’s not how public health works. Public health is about collective responsibility,” she said.

Dr Phelps said the country is expecting an additional 10,000 deaths from the virus this year if things don’t start to change and safeguards aren’t put in place.

“Hospitalisation numbers and deaths are two outcome measures that we’re looking at but there’s also an enormous burden of illness in the community.

“This is not panic stuff, this is just common sense public health. You look at the evidence and you take action,” she said.

It comes as Dr Phelps replied to a tweet from Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who was urging Queenslanders to get jabbed.

“Whatever advice you are receiving @AnnastaciaMP, vaccination alone will not control this #covid19 pandemic,” Dr Phelps tweeted in reply.

“People will continue to get reinfected without other measures. The healthcare system around the country is struggling: hospital staff, paramedics, GPs. Please mandate masks.”

Former AMA president Dr Kerryn Phelps responds to a tweet from the Queensland Premier.

Other commenters agreed with the professor’s reply, with one Twitter user saying it was a “sensible suggestion”.

It comes as Queensland recorded 4655 new cases of Covid-19 overnight bringing the number of total active cases to 53,100.

There are also now 762 people in hospital and 28 in the ICU.

The number of hospitalisations has dropped for the ninth day in a row following a peak of 1061 people in hospital on July 23.

Meanwhile, the state is yet to budge from 92.9 per cent of the population who’ve received two doses of the vaccine, as it spends over a week on the same figure.

The state has also seen 62 new flu cases, bringing the total to 681 active flu cases across Queensland.

Originally published as Former AMA president Dr Kerryn Phelps slams Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s pandemic response