Anti-vaxxers' dangerous ploy during COVID-19 pandemic

At a time when the world is facing a terrifying health crisis, it's surprising that one group of people are continuing to do their best to play down the risks. The pandemic has brought us face to face with what a world without vaccines could look like, but now anti-vaxxers have taken to letter box dropping to spread their dangerous message. 

"There is no pandemic. It's manufactured" - the headline of the letter, found in the mailbox of an A Current Affair staff member, reads. The letter claims the media is running a fear campaign, that COVID-19 is nothing more than the flu or common cold, and that social distancing is not appropriate.

We don't know who sent this letter, but the words parrot a dangerous campaign. The woman behind it - Judy Wilyman.

She calls herself a doctor but Judy Wilyman is not a medical expert, she is an anti-vaccination activist who came to prominence following the controversial award of a PHD about the government's vaccination policy. Her work has been heavily criticised.

Judy agreed to answer our questions on camera but cancelled just 30 minutes before. She took to her own channel to upload this video.

"Do not lock down a healthy population under the guidelines of 'social distancing' for a global pandemic when there is no evidence of that pandemic," Wilyman states in her video.

"You do not need to be fearful of this outbreak of disease in Australia as yet."

People are dying from coronavirus - what more is Judy waiting for?

"There's a lot of media bullying. Bullying that's coming through the media to encourage you to be socially responsible, to do social distancing and banning of gatherings when these measures are simply a removal of your freedom and they are not necessary in the current outbreak," Wilyman claims in her video.

For those who want a world without vaccines, welcome to a world in desperate search for just one vaccine.

"It's basically a hodge-podge of conspiracy theories and factually incorrect information," Neurologist Kate Ahmad told A Current Affair.

"It ties in with all their previous conspiracy theories they have raised about not trusting the World Health Organisation, that vaccines are a tool used by governments and that the virus is not necessarily dangerous.

"To say that the novel Coronavirus, COVID-19, which is the one currently circulating in the pandemic, is not dangerous, is ridiculously wrong and also dangerous."

Dr Ahmad says Judy and her peers are targeting Australians while they're most vulnerable.

"Many people have lost their jobs, and many people are now financially insecure so this is a good time for them to get in there and promote misinformation and mistrust in our very important scientific organisations. We know that social distancing is the best tool we have to prevent viral transmission, so to say this doesn't work and we don't need to do it, potentially endangers lives."

Police now have powers to issue on-the-spot fines to people for breaches of public health orders.

So should they also be able to fine activists spreading advice which goes against national health guidelines?

"We have a deadly disease sweeping the world with no vaccine. They've forgotten that Australia is far more educated than we were even five years ago, we can all see and appreciate the effect this virus is having on ourselves, and the deaths and suffering it's causing," surgeon John Cunningham said.

Coronavirus is a real life reminder of a time before vaccines, so will the current situation weaken the anti-vax movement?

Dr Cunningham says it could.

"The hard-core anti-vaxxers, I don't think you'll ever change their mind. It's the people that are on the fence in regards to vaccination that will soon come to realise that the people they're following, these anti-vaxxers, are just not worth it. They're not worth putting their children's health into their hands."