Limerick GP drew association between Covid vaccines and Nazi Germany, medical inquiry hears

Seán McCárthaigh

A social media post by a Limerick GP which showed an altered photo of the infamous motto on the gates of Auschwitz concentration camp created an association between Covid-19 vaccines and Nazi Germany, a medical inquiry has heard.

Expert witness, Colin Bradley, told the second day of a hearing before a fitness-to-practise committee of the Medical Council that the posting of the image by Dr Patrick Morrissey on his Twitter (now X) account was “a serious abuse of social media.”

The image – which Morrissey claims was a retweet – had replaced the well-known motto, “Arbeit macht frei” (work sets you free) with “VACCINES WILL MAKE YOU FREE.”

Prof Bradley said he understood the distress that it had caused the Auschwitz Memorial who had responded to the post by criticising how the symbol of the gates had been abused in a manner that was a “sad symptom of moral and intellectual decline.”

The witness said the rewording was sarcastic and particularly inappropriate and constituted professional misconduct, as the post was behaviour which would be considered “disgraceful” by doctors of repute.

With its reference to the Holocaust, Prof Bradley said it could be inferred that the words meant there was “something nefarious or a malign intent” behind the programme for a Covid-19 vaccine.

Morrissey, of the Adare Medical Centre in Adare, Co Limerick, is facing nine separate counts of professional misconduct as well as poor professional performance and breaches of the Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Practitioners.

The allegations relate to his prescribing practice, social media posts and comments at large public gatherings against Covid-19 restrictions.

The GP is also accused of failing to respond appropriately when asked by the mother of a 17-month-old boy with a respiratory condition to wear a face mask during a consultation in December 2021.

Morrisey has claimed he feels he is being punished for being outspoken in his views, which has caused him suffering in terms of his income and professional standing.

The GP, who has operated a clinic in Adare for around 20 years, told the Medical Council that he found it “distressful” that the regulatory body would think he would put his patients at risk.

The inquiry heard that three allegations relate to the prescribing by Morrissey of certain medicines, including hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin and azithromycin, as treatments for Covid-19 symptoms to several patients.

Prof Bradley told the inquiry that he expected competent doctors would adhere to advice from public health authorities.

He said it represented a serious falling short of expected standards for any GP to prescribe medicine contrary to clear and explicit guidelines.

Prof Bradley pointed out that hydroxychloroquine was only recommended by the health authorities for use by hospital in-patients as it had known adverse effects.

He claimed any action which would put a patient in danger was “morally questionable".

Prof Bradley said doctors should also know that the combination of hydroxychloroquine with azithromycin was “potentially dangerous” as it carried an increased risk of an abnormal heartbeat and anyone taking them should be using a cardiac monitor.

At the outset of the hearing on Tuesday, Morrissey pointed out that none of the patients he had treated with certain prescription medicines had made complaints to the Medical Council about him.

Questioned by counsel for the Medical Council, Neasa Bird, about a series of social media posts by Morrissey concerning Covid-19 vaccines between December 2020 and September 2021, Prof Bradley said they were “generally disparaging".

He claimed the various tweets had the potential to undermine public health guidelines at the time by “confusing the population".

Prof Bradley said he believed the GP was actively and vigorously undermining the vaccination programme, which he regarded as "disgraceful".

The witness said it could be inferred that people getting the vaccines were “foolish”, even though the vaccines had been “adequately and appropriately evaluated by the relevant authorities in the context of an ongoing pandemic".

Prof Bradley said a tweet in which Morrissey said “they are coming for your children” after the chairperson of the National Public Health Emergency Team, Tony Holohan, had announced that vaccines for children were being considered, would have caused “anxiety and alarm” among parents.

He described the tweet as “irresponsible and alarmist.”

The hearing was adjourned and will resume on Thursday.