poster
l
- Prof Paul Griffin lifts lid on Qld Covid response
By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA
Published: | Updated:
A leading health expert has admitted that he had often no idea where the advice that was issued to Queenslanders during the Covid pandemic had come from.
Mater Hospital infectious diseases director Professor Paul Griffin was a public face during the pandemic as an advisor to then-Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.
The Sunshine State implemented drastic lockdown measures, which saw its borders closed for months on end and prevented families from seeing dying loved ones.
Almost six years on, Professor Griffin has now shared his insights into the Covid response, admitting authorities ‘didn’t get it perfectly right’.
He also said the state was underprepared for the virus, and that he and other medical experts were often taken aback by some official comments and decisions.
‘There were a lot of times when we heard the health advice, and we were all catching up regularly saying we didn’t know where it was coming from,’ he told the Courier Mail.
‘Dealing with people locked out across the border, prevented from seeing dying relatives, and being told they had to wear a mask by themselves in a car, and we saw people at the football wiping the ball down before they threw it back.
‘I think that’s where we lost sight of just being sensible, but also actually relying on proper expertise.’
A leading health expert has lifted the lid on Queensland government’s drastic Covid measures, which included the wearing of face masks outdoors
Former Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk regularly came under fire during the pandemic for her Covid measures and lockdowns
Infectious diseases expert Professor Paul Griffin has admitted that the Queensland government ‘didn’t get it perfectly right’ and were underprepared for Covid
One major criticism was chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young’s public advice to under-40s not to get AstraZeneca jab.
‘I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID, probably wouldn’t die,’ she said at the time.
‘We are not in a position that I need to ask young, fit, healthy people to put their health on the line getting a vaccine that could potentially, significantly harm them.’
He told the Courier-Mail: ‘I understand there were some good intentions there but we know with the way things are shared on social media, if you make a damaging comment you can never take it away.
‘Finding good information around vaccines is so hard these days because even though [anti-vaxxers are] still the minority, they are very vocal and effective in spreading misinformation.
‘The conspiracy theories still blow my mind.’
Palaszczuk has previously defended the tough decisions made during the Covid crisis but conceded they were not made lightly.
‘Not everything was right, not everything was perfect, but we got through it,’ she told 7News Spotlight in 2024.
Prof Griffin has slammed ‘captains’ calls’ made by chief health officer Jeannette Young (left) and Annastacia Palaszczuk (right)
‘It was very difficult at the time, but the results for Queensland in the end, I do stand by it, but I do acknowledge it was very difficult and hard for families.
‘The end result was we only had tragically seven deaths during that whole period of that two years before we opened up our borders, so I think the results show that it did work.’
admin
