Julia Gillard, Greg Hunt receive AstraZeneca vaccine

The former prime minister has become one of the first Australians to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine in a bid to encourage people to get their jab.

Former prime minister Julia Gillard receives her Astrazenica vaccine at the Carrum Downs Respiratory Clinic. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Former prime minister Julia Gillard has urged Australian women to get vaccinated against coronavirus in a bid to counter vaccine scepticism among women.

Ms Gillard has become one of the first Australians to be vaccinated with the AstraZenca jab. She was inoculated on Sunday morning alongside Health Minister Greg Hunt and Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy in Melbourne.

“Particularly to Australian women, can I say, please get the vaccine,” Ms Gillard said after receiving the jab.

A recent Australian National University study found scepticism about the corona­virus vaccine has grown over the past six months and was most pronounced among young women.

Ms Gillard urged women to get health information from “from scientists not social media influencers.”

“If you do get that advice from a scientist, then the decision will become crystal-clear. The vaccine is safe, its effect of, it’s free, it will prevent you from getting seriously ill, so it is in your interests to take it as soon as you have the opportunity to do so,” she said.

“So when your turn comes to get the vaccine, please step forward and take it. It is the right decision for your own health, it is the right decision for your family‘s health, it is the right decision for the community’s health, and ultimately it is the right decision for our nation and our world.”

Former prime minister Julia Gillard receives her Astrazenica vaccine with Health Minister Greg Hunt on Sunday. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Ms Gillard said women’s tendency to be more cautious abut their health could lead to some becoming more hesitant about the vaccine.

“Obviously you‘ve got to be careful of stereotypes, here, but many a long year ago when I was Shadow Minister for Health, the evidence then very clearly showed that women were far more likely to regularly visit their GP,”

“Being thoughtful and cautious is not a bad thing when it comes to your health, but the best way of answering that caution is to make sure you are getting advice from credential sources.”

The federal government has not recommended that pregnant women receive a COVID vaccine. It says pregnant women should discuss the decision with their health professional to weigh up benefits with potential risk.

Despite the government advice., Professor Murphy said there was no evidence that vaccines were harmful in pregnancy.

“If someone has a vaccine and turns out to be pregnant, we don‘t need to worry but we also don’t know for sure, we don’t have enough data to say that they are absolutely safe in pregnancy,” he said.