Coronavirus

Annastacia Palaszczuk Refuses To Delete A Misleading Tweet About AstraZeneca

“Even the UK Government won’t allow their under 40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine," she tweeted.

by Millie Roberts  6 July 2021
Annastacia Palaszczuk Tweet

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The office of Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said she won’t delete a factually inaccurate tweet about AstraZeneca that’s been up for nearly a week.

Last Wednesday, she tweeted that “Even the UK Government won’t allow their under 40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine” — a statement that’s been proven to be untrue.

The Brisbane Times asked if Palaszczuk would remove the tweet on Monday, and was told she wouldn’t because she ‘clarified’ herself in a tweet the next day by linking a BBC article titled ‘Under 40s to be offered alternative to AZ vaccine’.

“Even the UK Government is offering alternatives to AstraZeneca for under 40s”, the Premier followed up in a tweet on July 1, with less loaded language.

In the article, the BBC states that “some under 40s will still be offered the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as it is easier to both transport and store, making it more practical than the alternatives.”

According to the Brisbane Times, the Premier also said the same statement during an ABC interview broadcast last Wednesday evening. She denied when asked by reporters if she was being “purposefully misleading” with her language in the original tweet the next day.

It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced after an emergency Cabinet meeting last Monday that under-40s would be able to get the controversial jab upon request, bringing the age down from the previous 60s plus bracket.

“If you wish to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, then we would encourage you to go and have that discussion with your GP,” Scott Morrison said during a press conference last Wednesday.

Palaszczuk has already come after the Prime Minister for his changed stance on the vaccine, saying on the same day that “we follow medical advice and the medical advice is very clear.”

“At the moment, the advice is for people aged 40 to 59 to get Pfizer, and people 60 and over to get AstraZeneca. There has been no National Cabinet decision about AstraZeneca being given to under-40s.”

She was backed up by Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young, who said she didn’t “want under-40s to get AstraZeneca because they are at increased risk of getting the rare clotting syndrome.”

“We’ve seen up to 49 deaths in the UK from that syndrome. I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID, probably wouldn’t die.”

The latest health advice from Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) is that Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for those aged 16 to under 60 years.

You can read Junkee’s full explainer on AstraZeneca advice for young people here.