WATCH: ‘You Don’t Trust Doctors’: Maltese Man Denied Vaccine Exemption Calls Out Chris Fearne Over New Rules
A Maltese man who was denied a booster exemption despite a doctor certifying that the original COVID-19 vaccine had accentuated his tinnitus has issued a heartfelt appeal to Health Minister Chris Fearne.
“All this fear of exemptions is because you’re scared that doctors will start handing out certificates haphazardly,” Adam Ben said in a video. “You don’t trust them with their profession. Why do you think people reported side effects when the vaccine was still 100% voluntary? Do you have a study that shows 100% that these side effects are impossible?”
Malta’s official COVID-19 vaccine standards state that exemptions on medical grounds are only justified when “the first dose of vaccine caused immediate severe anaphylaxis requiring medical treatment”.
Adam has said he suffered from tinnitus shortly after receiving his first two COVID-19 vaccines last year and that he was unable to sleep or work for five months.
A medical certificate seen by Lovin Malta states that Adam “has a history of vestibular hypofunction as well as tinnitus in both ears which was accentuated after being vaccinated against COVID”.
However, his request was dismissed, with the national COVID vaccine advisory team telling him in an email that “there is no current medical data or evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines are ototoxic”.
As a result of the new rules, Adam and people in his situation have been barred from entering restaurants, bars and several other establishments.
“If someone so much as suspects that something can harm them, they must avoid it like the January cold, especially if they’re young and the medication isn’t absolutely necessary to them,” Adam said.
“And then you say the benefits outweigh the risks…are you serious? If you try and oppress people like me who have already suffered, it will be your biggest mistake ever, Mr Fearne.”
“Excuse the rage but only people like me know what we’ve been through. And now we’re going to have our social rights taken away and we cannot even visit a restaurant? And if I go out with my friends, I have to wear a mask like a clown?”
“This is an ethical issue. If someone reported that the vaccine harmed them, he shouldn’t take it, especially if it’s not essential to them.”
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