Unvaccinated MP recovers quickly from COVID

COVID unvaccinated Member for Monash Russell Broadbent who contracted the virus but has now been given the allclear stands by his decision not to get vaccinated.

Mr Broadbent said he was ill for about four days with what he described as “something like a heavy summer cold”.

He maintained his stance against being vaccinated when he addressed parliament in Canberra last week explaining that for many years he’d taken vitamins and other supplements to boost his immune system and took the medication Ivermectin, that is not endorsed by Australia’s Therapeutic Good Administration as a treatment for COVID, during and for several days after the period he was ill.

Ivermectin is generally used for the treatment of worms in horses.

Mr Broadbent said the drug had been readily available around the world for 30 years. He claimed is was used mainly to treat people with parasitic infections or scabies, but could not prove if it worked for him or not.

He said he was comfortable with his choice not to be vaccinated and had no problems accepting the decisions of others, including his own family members, to receive the COVID injections.

The Rural Doctors Association of Victoria has strongly criticised Mr Broadbent’s decision to remain unvaccinated.

The association says vaccination is the strongest defence against COVID-19 and is promoting the need for three doses to protect individuals and the community at large.

“I have seen a lot of people with side effects from the vaccinations and a number of current and retired medical professionals had told me they had also chosen not to be vaccinated”.

“It is up to people to decide what’s best for them,” he said.

Mr Broadbent said a change in COVID related rules in the Australian Capital Territory had allowed him to attend last week’s sittings of parliament whereas he was prevented to attend in person sittings held late last year.

He said that at that stage Cardinia Shire, where he lives, was part of a declared Greater Melbourne “hot spot” for COVID and whose residents were not permitted to visit Canberra.

In a follow up address in Parliament on Thursday Mr Broadbent said he had “only ever put forward views of those I represent who cannot be heard otherwise—heartbreaking stories around vaccinations from both health practitioners and patients alike. I represent the views of those often ignored,” he said.

I have never sought to influence people’s choices, just made my decision based on the advice from my health practitioners, and I have been pilloried for it,” he said.