Doctor from Sydney’s Covid-hit south-west delivers powerful message to anti-vaxxers spouting dangerous conspiracies they saw on YouTube or read on WhatsApp
- Dr Ahmad Alrubaie warned against getting Covid information from social media
- The doctor from Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital was discussing ‘long Covid’
- He said ‘misinformation’ made some in his community hesitant about vaccines
- ‘Don’t listen to any social media. Don’t listen to any YouTube,’ he said
A senior doctor from Sydney’s south-west Covid hotspot has warned people not to listen to social media for information on the virus in a direct attack on anti-vaxxers.
Dr Ahmad Alrubaie, a senior lecturer at the University of NSW and gastroenterologist at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, fronted the media at today’s NSW Covid update.
‘Don’t listen to any social media. Don’t listen to any YouTube. Don’t listen to any WhatsApp networking…’ Dr Alrubaie said.
Dr Ahmad Alrubaie, a senior lecturer at the University of NSW and gastroenterologist at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital, urged people in his community of south-west Sydney not to listen to anti-vaccination messages on social media
![Dr Alrubaie said 'misinformation' circulating through social media had left many members of Sydney's south-west regions confused about the effects and effectiveness of Covid vaccines](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/01/03/47353819-9945653-image-a-14_1630461843126.jpg)
Dr Alrubaie said ‘misinformation’ circulating through social media had left many members of Sydney’s south-west regions confused about the effects and effectiveness of Covid vaccines
‘The only reliable source and trust the source is the information from the health authorities from health professionals and from sites you can get, including the NSW.gov.au,’ Dr Alrubaie said.
Dr Alrubaie said his community was tired due to the lockdown and the continuing fight against the spread of the virus in Sydney hotspots.
He said ‘misinformation’ circulating through social media had left many members of Sydney’s south-west regions confused.
‘As a result some people are still hesitant about the vaccination,’ he said.
‘To those people I say, the Covid vaccine is safe and effective.
‘The fight against this deadly virus is the responsibility of every single person one of us,’ he said. ‘It is your responsibility also.
‘First, get vaccinated without any delay. See your GP. See your pharmacist and visit the nsw.gov.au for an appointment. Get tested with the minimal symptoms in our areas because there are still hot spots.’
![Dr Alrubaie's call for people in south-west Sydney to come forward and be vaccinated came as NSW announced 1116 new cases and four more deaths on Wednesday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/01/03/47354203-9945653-image-a-18_1630461939643.jpg)
Dr Alrubaie’s call for people in south-west Sydney to come forward and be vaccinated came as NSW announced 1116 new cases and four more deaths on Wednesday
Dr Alrubaie said over the past six weeks the south-west community had responded well to calls to vaccinate, with 66 percent having received one dose and more than 30 percent being fully vaccinated.
His call for residents of LGA areas of concern to use trusted sources of information came as NSW recorded 1116 new cases and four more deaths on Wednesday.
He also warned the effects of ‘long Covid’, saying it could impact on people’s learning and study, and continue even after full recovery from the disease.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejilkian said the state is set to reach a major milestone of administering 70 per cent of first doses to eligible residents.
‘Make sure your employees are vaccinated so we can get back to life at 70 percent double-dose vaccination which we anticipate will happen somewhere around the middle of October,’ she said at Wednesday’s press conference.