“He has overstepped the mark”: Ben Fordham slams Dr Norman Swan over Covid claims
Radio host Ben Fordham has slammed Dr Norman Swan, after the ABC health expert incorrectly claimed the deaths of Senator Kimberley Kitching and Shane Warne were linked to COVID-19.
Dr Swan was forced to apologise after he said it was a “coincidence” that the cricketer and senator died of suspected heart attacks shortly after Covid infections while discussing a study that linked Covid infection with a higher risk of heart attacks, strokes and thrombosis.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that Shane Warne and the Labor Senator in Victoria died not long after a Covid infection, and people are reporting sudden death after Covid infection. It’s not benign,” he said
But, Senator Kitching’s family told Dr Swan that she hadn’t tested positive to the virus before her death at the age of 52, and he apologised after he heard he upset the family.
“I’ve personally apologised to Andrew, her husband,” Dr Swan told news.com.au.
“I’ve clearly made an error which I deeply regret. I do recall such reports and have checked with others who did too but that doesn’t excuse my having upset the family.”
After Dr Swan’s comments, 2GB host Ben Fordham took aim at the health broadcaster, claiming he was “no better than the anti-vaxxers who claim that every person who’s died in the last two years had died of the jab”.
“He should be ashamed of himself,” Fordham said.
“We called him out for that making the point that he’s not your patient, and if he was your patient you wouldn't be talking about him.
“There’s an unwritten rule for medicos who work in the medical space: Don’t go speculating on cases you know nothing about and that’s exactly what he did yesterday on Shane Warne.”
Fordham accused the former physician of “speculating like a gossip columnist” and spreading “doomsday scenarios”, while questioning why he was still being given a platform.
“He hasn’t practised medicine since the 1980s for starters - that’s how long it’s been since he’s been in the doctor’s room treating a patient,” he claimed.
“Because of coronavirus he was in the right place at the right time and he became a bit of a superstar at the ABC.
“We’ve been calling out his doomsday scenarios, trying to scare the life out of people when it comes to coronavirus, always giving the worst case scenario... (but) he has overstepped the mark in a major way.”
After making the claims on Tuesday’s News Breakfast, Dr Swan told the Daily Mail that he mentioned Senator Kitching and Warne in passing while warning viewers not to be complacent about Australia’s fourth Covid wave.
“These are two high-profile people,” he told the Daily Mail. “One of whose death was a complete surprise, and they both had Covid in the background.
“These weren’t private deaths, they were very public and had an impact on a lot of people who scratched their heads and wondered why, and that could have been a reason.
“If I thought it was hurtful to the families, I wouldn’t have said it.
“What would be hurtful is saying Kimberley Kitching had a dreadful lifestyle, if I was blaming her for the heart attack that would be a dreadful thing to say to the family. But if it’s a side effect of Covid it starts to explain things.”
The study Dr Swan had been discussing found that an additional 10,500 cases of heart attacks, strokes and thrombosis were recorded in England and Wales, and that people were 21 times more likely to experience one of these conditions in the first week after testing positive to Covid.
After four weeks, people were 3.9 times more likely to experience these conditions.
Dr Swan told the Daily Mail that Australians should be concerned about the long-term effects of a Covid infection, including long Covid and heart complications.
Using the example of Professor Chris Goodnow, who was forced to resign as executive director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research due to Covid-related heart complications, Dr Swan said people should try to avoid being infected.
“These heart side effects do happen, and it's probably one or two per cent of people. So your individual risk is low, but with tens of thousands being infected that's quite a lot of people in the community,” he said.
“You shouldn't go out trying to catch it thinking it's harmless and it will give you more immunity, you should try to avoid it if you can.”
Image: ABC News