2GB's Ben Fordham calls out ABC presenter Norman Swan's Ukraine comments

Radio broadcaster Ben Fordham has launched another blistering attack on the ABC’s doomsayer Covid expert Dr Norman Swan after he claimed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a spike in Covid cases and even new variants.

Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale war last week, with 150,000 soldiers attacking key cities and territories near the border as they attempt to take the capital of Kyiv. 

But while most Australians worried about whether Ukraine would be able to hold out, yesterday Dr Swan fretted about low immunisation rates in Eastern European nations. 

Ben Fordham has called out ABC broadcaster Norman Swan and asked whether he was suffering from relevance deprivation syndrome

The former GP and ABC presenter said the invasion had huge health ramifications on both populations given the chaotic movement of people.

‘Fresh outbreaks, new variants. Warfare through the centuries is a concurrent theme in making pandemics worse or creating them in the first place,’ he told ABC Radio National. 

Dr Swan’s comments prompted a scathing response from Fordham on 2GB.

‘Is Dr Norman Swan suffering from relevance deprivation syndrome?,’ he said on Tuesday morning. ‘The ABC’s medical expert is now warning about COVID numbers in Ukraine.

‘Dr Swan says that the Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a spike in COVID cases and even new variants.

‘Do you think locals in Ukraine are more worried about missiles or COVID right now?’

Fordham has previously slammed Dr Swan, claiming he lead a fear campaign about the Omicron virus.

Dr Norman Swan said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could lead to a spike in Covid cases and even new variants given low immunisation rates

Ukraine has vaccination rates of just 35 per cent in its eligible population, with Russia just over 56 per cent. 

Russia is suffering a wave of Covid cases, with a rolling average of more than 137,000 new infections a day as Omicron makes it way through the country. 

‘If this goes on a lot longer, where people are getting hungry, sanitation breaks down, Covid may be the least of it,’ he said.

The combination of high infection rates and low immunisation could lead to a medical catastrophe, with vulnerable people packed together in wartime conditions, Dr Swan warned. 

‘But you will certainly see an exacerbation in Covid-19, particularly in the elderly population of the Ukraine.’

There are also questions over the effectiveness Sputnik vaccine that is being administered in Russia, with fears infected soldiers could expose at-risk populations.

‘Even the Russians coming in are vulnerable because they’ve got the vaccine which has dubious protection,’ the physician said.

‘You’ve got two populations coming in together who are either under-immunised or they’ve got an inadequate vaccine.’

Dr Norman Swan, a former GP and presenter for the ABC, said the invasion had overwhelming health rammifications on both populations

Dr Swan said separate from Covid, the war would see an increase in other diseases and illnesses associated with the conditions of conflict.

He said there would be more common sicknesses like colds, diarrhea, vomiting, and gastroenteritis spreading through the community, but things could get much worse if the invasion was prolonged.

‘If it goes on a long time you’ll see pneumonia. Kids will die of childhood diseases,’ the ABC doctor said. 

‘It doesn’t bear thinking about how bad it could get with the usual disease,  much less Covid-19 going around in a vulnerable population.’    

Surrounding countries like Poland, Romania, and Moldova were also at risk as thousands of Ukrainian refugees fled over the border.