Doctor calls anti-vaccination influence ‘a tragedy’ as he lashes out at ‘religious right’ after team drops Covid-19 jabs message

Fiji's rugby team has dropped a sponsor-backed message to 'Vaccinate Fiji' from their shirts after players opposed the move, causing a doctor to voice his fury and warn that people opposing jabs should "stick in their own lane."

While Covid-19 cases rise sharply in Fiji, national rugby team sponsors Fiji Airways had given up its prime advertising space on the team jerseys to make room for a message stressing the importance of being vaccinated in the fight against the coronavirus.

The team has now abruptly dropped the shirts that they had planned to wear in their test against the All Blacks on Saturday, with a team manager confirming that players had been reluctant to endorse it.

“I was at a Fijian community meeting today in Henderson talking about vaccination,” said Auckland-based Dr Api Talemaitoga, describing widespread anti-vaccination arguments in Fiji to Stuff.

“There was a lot of noise, particularly from the religious right, [from people who] should know better.

"People who should know to stick in their own lane – who have no medical qualifications whatsoever – are really pressuring their congregation not to take the vaccine.

“It’s obviously infiltrated into the team, the strong sort of anti-vaccination messaging, which is just a tragedy for Fiji.

“Their influence, unfortunately [will go] a long way to propagating that anti-vaccination sentiment that is unfortunately rife in Fiji."

Healthcare staff are under pressure in a country where there are currently around 5,000 active cases, and pro-vaccine professionals had hoped that the huge game, which is the first between the teams for 10 years, would have provided a perfect platform for their message.

“We had given up our space [on the jersey] to push an important, life-saving message to support the efforts of Fijian front-liners battling the current Covid outbreak," said a spokesperson for Fiji Airways. “We defer to Fiji Rugby to address the issue.”

The issue of vaccines has been a huge issue across sport, with healthcare and political leaders keen to enlist top stars to encourage people to take treatment.

The world's most expensive footballer, Neymar, and former Wimbledon tennis champion Andy Murray have been among those to proudly broadcast their vaccinations to an audience of millions.

On Friday, a Major League Soccer team in the US confirmed that a player had been transfered because his reluctance to take a vaccine had led to a "problematic" situation.