"Go get her."
That was the message a well-known anti-vaxxer shared with their 22,000 Instagram followers, in response to a photo of a Mamamia staffer getting the COVID-19 vaccine.
In light of the call-to-action, hundreds of people sent abuse.
"The [anti-vaccine movement have] recruited a whole new army of supporters who are willfully spreading lies and misinformation on social media and influencing hundreds of thousands of people who may be on the fence about getting the COVID-19 vaccine," Mia Freedman said on Monday's No Filter podcast.
Whilst the onslaught of abuse almost led to the cancellation of the podcast episode on the COVID-19 vaccine, in which Freedman speaks to experts to address the concerns of those who are vaccine hesitant, it was published on Monday morning.
"There is too much at stake here," Freedman said.
During the episode, Freedman spoke to epidemiologist Professor Mary Louise McLaws about the common myths and concerns of the COVID-19 vaccines.
Has the COVID-19 vaccine been rushed?
Whilst the COVID-19 vaccines were developed with unprecedented speed, they were not rushed, Professor McLaws explains.
The epidemiologist says it usually takes five to 10 years to get participants who are the right gender and age group for vaccine trials, however this time there were hundreds of thousands of people who quickly put their hands up to be participants.
Professor McLaws said many participants were inspired by a sense of urgency after seeing death, sickness and overwhelmed health facilities in their countries.
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