Kelly Slater goes on an extraordinary rant claiming Covid is a disease for 'obese' people - after being triggered by a brilliant post from Tammy Hembrow's pro-vax Ironman boyfriend

Ironman champ Matt Poole sparked social media frenzy with pro-vaccine post
Poole, who is dating Tammy Hembrow, slammed anti-vaxxers for being 'selfish'
He used a surfing analogy to explain how anti-vaxxers impact the health system
But American surfer Kelly Slater took issue with his pro-vaccine stance
Slater said Covid-19 only impacted the 'obese, elderly and unhealthy'

By Aidan Wondracz For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 06:11 BST, 22 October 2021 | Updated: 06:59 BST, 22 October 2021

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Pro surfer Kelly Slater has gone on an extraordinary rant claiming Covid is a disease for 'obese people' after reading a pro-vax post by Ironman champ Matt Poole.

Poole, who is dating Australian social media influencer Tammy Hembrow, used a surf analogy to explain how anti-vaxxers can become a burden on the health system.

The 32-year-old athlete also called out fellow Ironman Trevor Hendy for insisting 'freedom of choice' was more important than getting the jab.

'The next time I head down to Surfers (Paradise) I'm going to jump in the rip because 'freedom of choice' - Trev you understand that - you just said you can't dictate to me what is or isn't potentially dangerous,' Poole wrote.

'It's no issue for me, but as soon as I start telling others there is no danger in the rip, they'll jump in too, and tell their mates and before you know it, there is a 100 of us in there. But Trev - that's our choice.'

Poole continued with his surf analogy to illustrate how unvaccinated people are more likely to end up getting Covid and taking up ICU beds in overflowing hospitals.

Ironman champ Matt Poole (left, with girlfriend Tammy Hembrow) has sparked a social media frenzy after calling out anti-vaxxers

Kelly Slater disagreed with Poole's post and said he knew 'more about being healthy than 99% of doctors'

'Now some of the 100 get in trouble, and lifesavers come to save them… putting those lifesavers in danger as well,' he wrote.

'Now 50 are drowning and the lifesavers are overrun, and can't save them all or themselves…. But that was our choice. It's not freedom of choice if it impacts others - it's about helping others.'

His analogy outraged Slater, who stepped in to bizarrely claim to know 'more about being healthy than 99% of doctors.'

'Let me explain why your analogy makes no sense,' the 11-time world surfing champ wrote.

'If I know the risks (informed consent) and I judge the choice to be one that benefits/hurts me based on stats and info and my own ability (health), I can choose accordingly.'

'If something happens to me it's on me, not someone else. Your argument is a false equivalence. Oranges and apples. If 99.7% of all people would be fine with no lifeguard while in that rip and they're given all the possibilities, most could swim the most dangerous part of that beach without risking drowning.'

Matt Poole vs Kelly Slater on the importance of the Covid vaccine

MATT POOLE:

The next time I head down to Surfer's Paradise I'm going to jump in the rip because 'freedom of choice'. Trev you understand that - you just said you can't dictate to me what is or isn't potentially dangerous.

It's no issue for me, but as soon as I start telling others there is no danger in the rip, they'll jump in too, and tell their mates and before you know it, there's 100 of us in there. But Trev - that's our choice.

Now some of the 100 get in trouble, and lifesavers come to save them… putting those lifesavers in danger as well. Now 50 are drowning and the lifesavers are overrun, and can't save them all or themselves.

But that was our choice. It's not freedom of choice if it impacts others - it's about helping others

KELLY SLATER:

Let me explain why your analogy makes no sense. If I know the risks (informed consent) and I judge the choice to be one that benefits/hurts me based on stats and info and my own ability (health), I can choose accordingly. If something happens to me it's on me, not someone else.

Your argument is a false equivalence. Apples and oranges. If 99.7% of all people would be fine with no lifeguard while in that rip and they're given all the possibilities, most could swim the most dangerous part of that beach without risking drowning.

Now regarding Covid… 21 total deaths in OZ under the age of 30 and 6 below 20. This is clearly a disease of obese, unhealthy, and elderly if you study the official statistics. And for people saying listen to the doctors, I'm positive I know more about being healthy than 99% of doctors, but I wouldn't trust me.

But most of my covid info comes directly from doctor friends, many of them in disagreement with the official 'science'.

Slater went on to point out that Australia - which has largely managed to contain the spread and impact of Covid with snap lockdowns and high vaccination rates in recent months - has had just 21 deaths from the virus under the age of 30.

America has suffered over 700,000 deaths from Covid since the start of the pandemic with over 15,000 people under 40 dying from the disease.

'This is clearly a disease of obese, unhealthy, and elderly if you study the official statistics,' Slater claimed.

'Anyone here shaming people who are affected or concerned does nothing but feed the ego.'

The fiery exchange, which took place in the comments section of an Australian surf program's Instagram post encouraging vaccination, divided opinion with a number of other Aussie stars getting involved.

Model Jett Kenny, actor Ingo Rademacher, radio host Angus O'Loughlin and Ironman athletes Tanyn Lyndon and Matt Bevilacqua all offered their own opinions on the jab.

It's not the first time Slater has inserted himself into debate about the vaccine.

In June, Slater was slammed for sharing 'anti-vax nonsense' with fans in a bizarre social media fight on a satirical news site.

The Betoota Advocate shared a satirical article about a father who was proud after stinking up a toilet, prompting Slater to comment 'Dads have no shame'.

Slater (pictured with designer Kalani Miler) has previously come under fire after vowing to not get the Covid vaccine

Despite the story being unrelated to Covid-19, Slater was quickly targeted by a man who accused him of posting anti-vaccine content over his social media pages.

'Aren't you the fella who shares anti-vax nonsense on social media? Seems like you have no shame either,' the man wrote.

Slater became defensive, explaining he was not against vaccinations but feared the jab had not been thoroughly tested.

'Why does this account always end up with these triggered, b***y people who can’t take a joke? And second, I’m not anti vax. I’m anti mandating medical procedures. But I’ve never even pushed that,' he wrote.

The man responded by asking if he would have it once it become available, with the surfer replying 'probably not anytime soon'.

'It hasn’t been studied long enough to know long term cons. A friend’s dad also died a couple days after getting it from blood clots, so there’s that. Think I’ll wait for the antibodies naturally if I get covid,' Slater said.

The sporting champion's views sparked outrage, with many accusing him of not considering how his decision would impact the greater community.

Covid-19 vs the vaccine: The facts

The risk of dying from Covid-19 is 22,000 times higher than suffering fatal side-effects from the AstraZeneca vaccine, a renowned Australian scientist has warned.

Beloved science boffin Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, 73, said all Australians need to know the numbers 1, 40 and 22,000 when weighing up whether or not they should get vaccinated against the virus.

'One in a million is the odds of dying from the AstraZeneca vaccine,' the expert dubbed 'the people's scientist' said in an video shared on TikTok.

The figure is taken from Therapeutic Goods Administration data, which shows there have only been nine deaths linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine from more than 9.6 million doses administered across Australia as of August 29.

The vaccine has been linked to extremely rare blood clotting incidents but Dr Karl said the risk of dying in a road accident is still much higher at 40 deaths in a million.

He said the chance of dying from Covid-19 once infected is 22,000 in a million, 550 times higher than the risk of being killed on Australia's roads.

'22,000 to one. Those are really good odds,' Dr Karl said. 'That's why I got vaccinated as soon as possible - and so should you.'

During Melbourne's Covid-19 second wave there were 18,628 cases and 800 deaths as the virus ripped through Victoria's unvaccinated population in late 2020, according to the state's Department of Health.

Those figures equal a death rate of 42,000 in a million.