AHPRA has dismissed claims that doctors who post material questioning the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines on their social media sites are “brave” whistleblowers who need protection from regulatory action.

The regulator was responding to a letter from lawyer Tony Nikolic, acting “on behalf of several doctors” who had apparently registered their social media accounts as public interest disclosures, on the basis that their statements regarding the vaccine rollout could save lives. 

Co-signed by Liberal senator Gerard Rennick, the letter called on AHPRA to scrap its whistleblower policy and redraft it to provide greater protection for doctors who raise concerns about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

It pointed to the watchdog’s March 2021 position statement, which warned doctors risked regulatory action if they gave false or deceptive information to patients or on social media about the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.