DA vaxx rift ruffles feathers

The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) support for Covid-19 and other vaccinations may be waning.

This week, party leader John Steenhuisen met vocal anti-vaccination campaigner Dr Aseem Malhotra, who was in South Africa championing his cause.

Steenhuisen posed in an endorsement-like snap with Malhotra in his office.

‘Informed consent’

The anti-vaxxer also tweeted about the DA leader, following the engagement.

“An open and awake politician. Honoured to be invited to meet with the leader of the Democratic Alliance party,” Malhotra said.

He went on to highlight talks: “We discussed ethical evidence-based medicine and improving quality care for patients through informed consent. There is hope.”

Malhotra is a British cardiologist, researcher and author known for his work in the field of nutrition and lifestyle medicine.

He is also an advocate against medical overprescribing. Notably, he is one of the world’s most vocal opponents of Covid vaccination.

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Malhotra was in South Africa to speak at a BizNews conference, also attended by DA federal chair Helen Zille and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, among guests that included the Banting diet advocate Tim Noakes.

In the same week, Malhotra was the keynote speaker at a lunchtime talk hosted at the DA-run Western Cape parliament.

An invitation to attend the talk was issued to all National Assembly, National Council of Provinces and provincial legislature leaders and staff.

The topic was Ethical and Evidence-based Healthcare.

Deputy speaker of the Western Cape, Beverley Schafer, hosted the event.

‘Proven by science’

While Steenhuisen’s media officer, Charity McCord, failed to respond to queries from The Citizen on whether or not the party now endorsed the anti-vaccination campaign, insiders in both the City of Cape Town and in the provincial office responded in alarm.

They said it was doubtful that the party or its leader would shift in stance at this stage.

Mashaba assured The Citizen that, while his party believed that vaccination is a personal choice, both he and his family were fully vaccinated.

READ MORE: ‘They turned us into lab rats’ – anti-vaxxers happy they hesitated

But Western Cape premier Alan Winde was furious. In a series of tweets he made his ire clear.

“Neither the Western Cape department of health and wellness, nor the premier’s office, was in any way involved with the event hosted by the provincial legislature and distance themselves from the purported views expressed by the invited speaker,” he said.

Winde assured the public that vaccines will remain available as it has been proven, by science, that vaccination remains the most effective way to combat Covid.

The international scientific evidence clearly shows that Covid-19 vaccines are the best tools to manage the virus and have saved and continue to save lives.

— Premier Alan Winde (@alanwinde) March 15, 2023

Anti-vaxxers object to almost any form of medical intervention and prevention of disease by vaccination.

And with the recent spread of measles, the concomitant health scare and mass vaccination roll-out by government, the timing of Malhorta’s visit may have suited an agenda.

Fake news

Medicare24 chief executive Mike van Wyk dismissed Malhotra outright.

He said there were millions of cases evidencing the efficacy of the vaccine and the lives it has saved.

“It is as bad as spreading fake news and at that, in a world where credibility is shaped by social media, no matter how ridiculously ignorant and untrue,” said Van Wyk.

“Believing in the anti-vaxxer message is akin to agreeing that the earth is flat or that the moon landing never happened.”

While Steenhuisen’s office remained mum, Winde said on Twitter: “It is not my role to comment on the role of parliament and I respect that it is a separate arm of government, but I hope that how this event happened will be investigated.”

Medical doctor Alistair McAlphine said he wished the rest of the DA had “Winde’s moral clarity”.

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