Graphic Australian Covid vaccine advertisement sparks outrage

The ad has been criticised for leaning into scare tactics

A new advertisement by the Australian government aimed at boosting the coronavirus vaccination rate in the country has created a stir.

The government released an advertisement on Sunday featuring a young woman in a hospital bed, as she gasped for air. The 30-second ad ended with the message: “Covid-19 can affect anyone. Stay home. Get tested. Book your vaccination.”

The critics have slammed the ad for using scare tactics while urging the young people to get themselves inoculated despite the knowledge that those under 40 are not yet eligible for the recommended Pfizer-BioNTech vaccinations.

Responding to the critics, prime minister Scott Morrison said that there will “always” be criticism. “I know that, and it was only a few weeks ago that our very critics were saying that the advertising needed to be stronger, far stronger, even making references to grim reapers,” he told Sky News Australia.

“[The ad] has two messages... one is to stay at home,” Mr Morrison said. “We can’t be complacent about this. And young people moving around the city was putting people at risk right across the community, including themselves.”

Earlier, Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly had defended the ad saying that it is “quite graphic and it’s meant to be graphic”. He added: “We are only doing this because of the [Covid-19] situation in Sydney.”

Dr Jessica Kaufman, a research fellow at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute told the Guardian the ad “leans very, very strongly into scare tactics and fear” and argues that it could increase vaccine hesitancy among people.

“We’ve seen with vaccination in particular that fear campaigns or scary messages about diseases can actually cause people to become more fearful of vaccine side-effects,” she was quoted as saying. She further slammed the government for targeting the young through the advertisement.

“They’re really targeting young people because I think they think that the young people are breaking the rules in Sydney,” she was quoted as saying. “But it’s muddied by saying: stay at home, and by the way, book your vaccination that you’re not eligible for because we don’t have enough of it.”

Currently, Australians under 40 are not eligible for Pfizer shots due to vaccine shortage. Though Prime Minister Morrison announced last month that those under 40 have the option of getting the AstraZeneca vaccine after speaking with their doctor, the current advice from the Australian Technical Advisory (ATAGI) Group on Immunisation recommends AstraZeneca only for those over 60, saying Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for anyone under that age.

According to the data published by the Guardian, only 9.03 per cent of its population is fully vaccinated.