Sam Frost vaccine controversy: Experts say ‘almost no one’ is medically exempt from Covid-19 jab

A doctor has revealed how rare a medical exemption for the vaccine actually is, explaining virtually “no one” in Australia is able to get one.

Australia’s body for GPs has revealed just how tricky it will be for people to attain a legitimate digital Covid-19 vaccine exemption certificate, set to launch this month.

Despite popular belief among vaccine-hesitant circles, they won’t be handed out to people with chronic illnesses, auto-immune conditions, blood clotting disorders, allergies, or histories of strokes or heart attacks.

In fact, “almost no one” in Australia will be eligible for an exemption, according to Professor Kristine Macartney, director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS).

It follows backlash surrounding TV soap star Sam Frost’s controversial announcement on the weekend that she, for health reasons, would not be receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

She would therefore ultimately have to remain in compliance with strict lockdown restrictions until December 1, when NSW is expected to reach its 80 per cent vaccination target.

Her public decision has been poorly received across the country, with many critical of Frost’s reasoning, as well as her claiming she was the victim of “segregation” in society.

Protesters against the NSW government’s vaccine mandate in Coffs Harbour. Picture: Tim Jarrett

Exemptions only apply to severe allergy sufferers

The only people the three available vaccines could be dangerous for are those with allergies to both Polyethylene glycol (PEG) – contained in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines – and polysorbate 80, an ingredient of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Prof Macartney told The Age.

She said the ingredients were “very very common” in everyday products like cosmetics and bathroom staples, so people with allergies to them would already be well aware.

President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Dr Karen Price, confirmed there was a “very small” group of people who couldn’t be vaccinated.

“Only a very small number of people can’t get a vaccine due to what we call ‘contraindications’,” Dr Price told news.com.au.

“And for those people who have a contraindication to one vaccine, other vaccine options are available, so there would be a minuscule number of people who can’t get any vaccine, if any.”

The only other reasons a vaccine may need to be temporarily deferred would be due to an acute medical condition like major surgery or hospital admission, or if someone is recovering from Covid-19, Dr Price added.

A group of friends enjoy their first pub drink in months in Sydney on Freedom Day. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Allergic reactions extremely rare

While severe allergic reactions were possible, they were extremely rare and affected only about one in every 100,000 people.

Additionally, those who did experience a reaction after getting a vaccine would know about 15 minutes afterwards and could be easily treated, Prof Macartney said.

In most cases, an alternative vaccine could still be safely administered for the individual’s second shot.

Vaccine safe for seriously ill

Dr Price added that each of the vaccines were safe for people in the grips of serious medical treatment like chemotherapy, surgery, and an organ transplant or bone marrow transplant.

It was more a matter of timing the vaccine so as not to disrupt the course of treatment, Dr Price said.

“I urge people with chronic health conditions who have concerns about the vaccine to seek proper medical advice – speak to your GP. Please don’t miss the opportunity to be vaccinated due to misinformation,” she said.

“The benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. So far more than six billion vaccination doses have been given in the world. And we’ve seen in other countries that Covid-19 vaccines have proven to protect people, reducing the number of deaths and severe cases requiring hospitalisation, and allowing countries to open up while the virus is still in the community.”

Vaccinated Sydneysiders at the pub after it reopened on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire

She said it was even more important that vulnerable people with chronic medical conditions were vaccinated.

“We know that those who end up in hospital ICU and with serious Covid related complications are largely the unvaccinated.”

Abusive behaviour ‘not on’

Dr Price said she was aware of staff being abused by patients upset at not being given a medical exemption from the vaccine.

“I know anecdotally that many practice receptionists and other members of the team, as well as GPs have copped a great deal of abuse from patients seeking ‘medical exemptions’ for vaccination,” she said.

“This is not on, abusive behaviour is never okay.”

Sam Frost controversy

Home and Away actress and former Bachelorette Sam Frost made headlines over the weekend after sharing a video explaining that she won’t be receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.

The reality TV personality claimed she had sought advice from her health team and believed she had made the right choice for herself, acknowledging she would likely receive backlash for her decision.

Frost’s prediction has since been proven correct, with the video causing uproar across the country, particularly from people working in the medical field, who are actively fighting the latest Covid-19 outbreak.

Frost, who has continued to film the Channel 7 soap in Sydney, immediately copped immense backlash on social media for her stance, and deactivated her Instagram account hours after posting the video.

Sam Frost fought back tears in her video revealing she won’t get a Covid vaccine. Picture: Instagram/samfrost

In the video, she claimed she had been made to feel like “less of a human” due to being unvaccinated.

“It’s a really hard time to be in society right now, you feel like you are less of a human and you feel like people judge you, and you’re too scared to talk about your opinion or your feelings, and part of you wants to go, ‘Well, it’s none of your damn business why I’m not (vaccinated)’,” she told her followers.

Frost argued that as NSW began opening up, segregation between the vaccinated and unvaccinated would get bigger.

Gyms, cafes, restaurants, pools, shops, hairdressers and beauticians reopened on Monday to the fully vaccinated, with people also allowed to venture more than 5km from their home.

Originally published as Sam Frost vaccine controversy: Experts say ‘almost no one’ is medically exempt from Covid-19 jab