By Jessica Micallef
McEwen MP Rob Mitchell is urging Sunbury residents to “tear up and throw away” anti-vaccination leaflets that may appear in their letterbox.
Mr Mitchell said residents had notified him last Monday [February 1] about anti-vaccination leaflets about the COVID-19 vaccine that had been dropped in their letterbox.
The leaflet, seen by Star Weekly, said people should “avoid the COVID vaccine at all costs” and claims the “vaccine could potentially be more deadly than the virus”.
Mr Mitchell believes the sender of the leaflets is from American-based company, IDoNotComply, which labels itself as a global movement that opposes COVID-19 regulations.
“It’s dangerous that people are getting this. People will read this and wonder if it’s true,” he said.
“We are seeing these theories being put out … it’s all garbage. Tear the leaflet out and put it in the bin.”
Mr Mitchell said only Sunbury residents had contacted to him about the leaflets so far, but he was concerned people in surrounding areas would receive the leaflets.
The leaflet also has a QR code and a web address to the organisation’s site. Mr Mitchell urged people not to scan the code.
“It’s for your own safety,” he said.
“It comes from an American-based organisation which you’d think wouldn’t be so callous and stupid to make a statement like ‘most people have no risk of dying of COVID-19.’
“This from a country where tragically more than 440,000 deaths have been recorded.”
Mr Mitchell said more work needed to be done to combat potentially “deadly misinformation”.
He said people should consult a doctor or medical professional when it came to vaccinations and medical treatment.
“We don’t know who these people are and that is why we have medical experts,” he said.
“They have decades in training and learning to understand these things. They are the people to talk to.
“Let’s not let false lies spread as being facts. It’s dangerous.
“What we have achieved in Victoria … is an amazing job and the last thing we need is people spreading theories.”
