Australia’s public broadcaster has spoken out on behalf of prominent health editor and broadcaster Norman Swann for falsely linking the deaths of cricketer Shane Warne and labor senator Kimberly Kitching to COVID-19. I was forced to apologize.
During most of the pandemic, Swann was a regular face of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and lobbied the government. adopt Containment strategies to deal with the virus, including strict restrictions, mandating masks, and deploying a vaccine.
Swann made a controversial comment last week in an ABC television interview, citing a 2020 study where both Warne and Kitching “died shortly after being infected with COVID, and people are reporting sudden deaths.” suggests that there are too many coincidences. After COVID infection.
Kitching has never been diagnosed with COVID-19.
She and Warne allegedly died of a sudden heart attack earlier this year. Both were 52 years old.
ABC issued an apology through TV host Michael Rowland, and the station issued an apology suggesting there was a “COVID link to the deaths” of both individuals.
“Dr. Swann personally apologized to Senator Kitching’s husband yesterday and regrets making the mistake.
Swann was criticized in the comments
In response, Dr. Nick Coatsworth, a former federal deputy chief medical officer, was critical of Swann’s comments, saying it “wasn’t his best moment.”
“You can’t go wrong if you avoid speculating about the individual and avoiding speculating about the cause of death, especially if both were very tragic,” he said. 2GB radio November 16th.
He also questioned why Swan cited the 2020 study.
“This was pre-vaccine, pre-Omicron waves, pre-hybrid immunity that we have in the community,” he said.
later twitterDr Coatsworth writes: ABC might want to reflect on that. ”
Coatsworth has been a vocal critic of the continuation of the harsh repressive policies that swept most of Australia during the pandemic year.
A local October survey classified these policies as “excessive” and “harsh.”
Meanwhile, Australian health officials warn that a potential ‘variant soup’ of the COVID-19 strain is sweeping the country.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said this month that all evidence suggests a new wave has arrived in Australia, along with overseas variants such as Omicron subspecies BQ.1, XBB and BA.5. announced at the beginning.
“Our previous experience with these variants abroad does not appear to increase the risk of serious illness or death, and the COVID-19 vaccine offers excellent protection against these outcomes.” he said in a statement.
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Daniel Y. Teng is based in Sydney. His focus is on national politics such as federal politics, the COVID-19 response and Australia-China relations. Any tips? Please contact [email protected]