Anti-vaxx video: Medical bodies refute doctor’s claims

The Fiji Medical Association believes a video released by a Lautoka doctor is thwarting vaccination efforts and spreading false information.

Dr Baladina Kavoa from Lautoka posted a video stating that deaths had been caused by the vaccine in Fiji.

Her Facebook videos, which have been circulated, have now been marked as ‘False Information’ by Facebook and debunked by Facebook independent fact checkers.

Association president Dr Basharat Munshi said they were of the view that the video was reckless, full of false information and based solely on a conspiracy theory website.

“The Fiji Medical Association strongly advises our Fijian public to disregard the falsehoods that are being perpetrated in this video,” he said.

“Sadly, the author of this video sounds delusional and does not appear to have any insight on the implications of her claims.

“We will be lodging a formal complaint to the Medical Council to re-examine this doctor’s credentials as this is conduct unbecoming of a reasonable, critical thinking mind which all doctors should have.”

The association has reassured the Fijian public that COVID-19 vaccinations were safe and their sole purpose was to contain this pandemic.

“Not vaccinating will result in you getting sick and even dying from COVID-19 should you contract the disease. Let us all be critical thinkers who embrace science,” said Dr Munshi.

Dr Kavoa has stated that she stood by her comments and still believed that the vaccine was killing Fijians.

Fiji College of General Practitioners president, Dr Ram Raju said Dr Kavoa’s statements were not not backed by science or evidence-based medicine.

He said the Fiji College of the General Practitioners did not share the views of Dr Kavoa.

“It is time for all of our healthcare workers to unite and educate the public about the truth,” he said.

He said an investigation would be carried out to see if the actions of the private practitioner warrants disciplinary action.