The Project co-host Kate Langbroek has let loose on the millions of Aussies who lined up “like little b*****s” to get the COVID vaccine in an impassioned rant.
Sky News Digital Presenter Gabriella Power has warned people to learn the lessons from COVID-19 and not “buy into the fear” spread by organisations during the pandemic.
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is withdrawing its COVID-19 vaccines worldwide amid its ongoing court case against 51 victims.
It follows a court admission on April 30 that Vaxzevria had induced the dangerous side effects of thrombosis – caused by excessive blood clotting – and a rare condition called thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) in some people.
“Although AstraZenca is being discontinued for commercial reasons the news is a reminder of the freedoms that were taken away from us and the way people were treated by politicians – as well as members of society,” Ms Power said.
“I think we’d all agree we never want to go back to that dark time of 2020 and 2021 but we need to remember that the fear – that came from the top down that was drilled into us and made many of us do crazy things like stock up on toilet paper – could be thrown back at us but in a different way.”
The Aussie comedian’s comments came during a segment on the controversial treatment of the proudly unvaccinated tennis star Novak Djokovic during his time Down Under in 2022.
Djokovic was given a medical exemption to play in the Australian Open – at a time when a person needed a COVID vaccine to enter the country – and was deported from the country amid a visa debacle.
He drew headlines again this week after accusing a crowd at Wimbledon of “disrespect” after thrashing Danish player Holger Rune.
The tennis star’s “staunch” conduct was praised by Langbroek who likened this situation to Djokovic’s defiance during the visa debacle.
“His sense of himself was so strong, then when all the world was lining up like little b*****s to get jabbed with an unknown vaccine, he went, ‘I’m not going to’ and the world hated him,” she said.
“He was just like staunch.”
Co-host and fellow comedian Sam Taunton noted the tennis stars was locked up during the visa fiasco, prompting Langbroek to retort: “Yeah and then (they) booted him out.”
Langbroek has long been outspoken on her scepticism towards mandatory COVID vaccines by employers, something she said stems from her upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness.
This topic ran hot when she came to fiery blows with The Project co-host Hamish Macdonald in mid-2021.
“I’m not anti-vax, but I’m very uncomfortable prescribing mandatorily to people what they have to put in their bodies to work or participate in,” she said before relating this stance to her opposition against the exclusionary Jehovah’s Witness practice of ‘disfellowshipping’.
“I hate the thought that people will be disfellowshipped from their lives because they have hesitation or doubts about the vaccine,” she said.
Macdonald said mandatory vaccinations were not just about those being jabbed, arguing employers had responsibility for their staff members.
“The reality is that that hesitation can impact other people and their health,” Macdonald said.
“So as an employer, you’re responsible not just to Kate, who might be cautious, you’re responsible to all your employees, right? If you let Kate continue to come into work, you can transmit it to us and then we can transmit it to our families.”
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Langbroek shot back at while condescendingly wagging her finger in Macdonald’s face.
“That’s when your vaccine has to do its work, mate!” she exploded.
The argument simmered when Langbroek pointed out she had one jab at that point and had taken one of her children to get vaccinated earlier that day.
As of June 12, Australian health officials have given 71.5 million doses of the COVID vaccine.