Doctors in the spotlight over Astra-Zeneca Covid-19 vaccine stand

Top health officials frustrated with failure to rein in medicos who are perpetuating conspiracy theories about AstraZeneca.

Sydney anaesthetist Robert Hackett has repeatedly warned the public against AstraZeneca.

Australia’s top health officials are growing increasingly frustrated with the medical regulator’s failure to rein in medicos undermining public confidence in the lifesaving AstraZeneca vaccine by perpetuating conspiracy theories about the jab.

The Weekend Australian can reveal some of the country’s leading officials are highly concerned that doctors, who have a strong social media following, appear to be flouting the legislated guidelines that state a registered health practitioner must not “contradict the best available scientific evidence”.

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency policies also prevent abusive online conduct, stipulating doctors “communicate effectively, courteously, professionally and respectfully with and about other health care professionals”.

Several vocal medical professionals have come to the attention of commonwealth and state health officials for aggressive anti-AstraZeneca commentary.

Robert Hackett, a Sydney anaesthetist, has also perpetuated a conspiracy theory that the Coalition is deliberately spreading Covid-19 in order to make money from AstraZeneca, calling for a royal commission into the vaccine and accusing the LNP of being a “crime family”.

West Australian GP David Berger wrote online that “the evidence for AstraZeneca is very thin, and you know it".

Nick Coatsworth, an infectious diseases specialist and the former deputy chief medical officer, said the online conduct of some medical practitioners had eroded community confidence “during a critical time”.

“Whilst there is clear benefit in having a plurality of medical views expressed during Covid-19, maintaining a high degree of professionalism and respect particularly online is critical to maintain community confidence in the advice of medical leaders,” he said.

A senior government source told The Weekend Australian the AHPRA code existed to govern the public behaviour of health practitioners, including their social media activity.

“Professional guidance also requires that practitioners generally should not comment publicly on areas in which they are not considered expert by their peers,” he said. “This guidance has been established to protect the community and other practitioners.”

Dr Hackett, who has worked from home since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – refusing to go into the hospital system on account of it being too dangerous for healthcare workers – has in recent months repeatedly warned the public against the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite government and health authorities pleading with Sydneysiders to get vaccinated as the Delta variant spreads.

“The agenda appears to be to let Covid-19 spread to increase uptake of AstraZeneca – the LNP vaccine,” he wrote in a Twitter post on July 13.

In another tweet that day, Dr Hackett said: “Corrupt, evil government purposely allowing Covid-19 in through still inadequate quarantine and allowing it to unnecessarily spread through still inadequate lockdown. #GladysMustGo.”

In a July tweet, he said Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian were “trying to kill Australians”.

Dr Hackett also claimed on Twitter in late June that there was reason to believe the “AstraZeneca vaccine in Australia is causing much more harm than good”.

“We should have banned AstraZeneca in Australia months ago. While we persist with AZ we will only continue to kill Australians unnecessarily,” he wrote.

Dr Hackett has called for an AstraZeneca Royal Commission, and has even suggested the Therapeutic Goods Administration was covering up deaths.

In one tweet on May 25, he said: “I feel like I’m at a crossroads where either the government stops unnecessarily harming and killing people with AstraZeneca or I’m kicked out of the industry for not condoning it. I’ll let you choose @Ahpra.”

Dr Hackett’s online conduct has also been highly offensive. In a Twitter post directed at Dr Coats-worth in April this year, he wrote: “Until you’re prepared to smear yourself in COVID I politely ask that you please shut the f**k up”.

In another tweet he said: “you are no longer a healthcare professional You are merely the arsehole of the LNP farting out their bullshit rhetoric Shame on you, you sad pathetic person.”

Both Dr Hackett and Dr Berger deleted their Twitter accounts after The Weekend Australian made inquiries about their online conduct on Wednesday evening.

Dr Berger, who has a long history of social and refugee activism and was a board member at the British Medical Journal Group when it debunked claims the MMR vaccine caused autism, has also come to the attention of officials after questioning the effectiveness of AstraZeneca.

“Meanwhile, we WILL get better and better vaccines, which will certainly be a lot more helpful than AstraZeneca. This is a complex, changing problem with complex, changing solutions. AZ is not one of them. Other measures which are, are being ignored. Go figure!” Dr Berger wrote in a Twitter post on May 20. When asked if his statements were appropriate, Dr Berger said he was an activist who is “generally to be found challenging the orthodox position”.

“All citizens should be able to speak freely, including and particularly those with special expertise in the matter at hand, such as doctors,” Dr Berger said.

Dr Hackett said he no longer stood by his remarks on Twitter and has now deleted them, along with his entire account, following inquiries. He said healthcare workers were “under significant pressure and risk to their own health and wellbeing”.

Dr Coatsworth, who has personally been targeted online, would not comment on specific instances but said online abuse was “not acceptable” and set a poor example for junior doctors who are prolific social media users.

“If they see online abuse being made, and if the environment created by our regulators is permissive of that, then it is likely to influence their behaviour toward leaders in healthcare which is ultimately bad for patient care,” he said. “There has been significant online abuse of medical public officials since the start of the pandemic. It is reasonable to conclude that this erodes confidence in the community during this critical time for Australia. Doctors in particular need to be held to the highest standard of accountability for their online behaviour.”

A spokeswoman for AHPRA said the online conduct of medical professionals was an issue that was increasingly being raised with boards, but confidentiality provisions meant it couldn’t comment on “individual matters”.

Its policy states: “A registered health practitioner who makes comments, endorses or shares information which contradicts the best available scientific evidence may give legitimacy to false health-related information and breach their professional responsibilities.”