A group of 100 anti-vaccination protestors, who rallied against inoculating children from the deadly pandemic in Tamworth on Saturday, were well-behaved and non-violent, according to police.
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NSW Police estimated that a group of about 100 anti-vaccination protestors gathered in Bicentennial Park on the weekend.
The rally was part of a nation-wide 'Reclaim the Line' protests, which were also held in Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle.
NSW Police estimated 100 participants gathered in the park at 11am, before setting off at about midday.
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Protestors gathered to listen to songs with anti-vaccination themes and speeches and had a barbeque. There were also market gardens with free home-grown vegetables. Organisers also distributed branded shirts from a table at the event.
The rally later travelled through Peel, and Brisbane streets, before returning to Bicentennial Park.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said they were "very compliant".
"The demonstration was conducted lawfully, peacefully and without the interruption or inconvenience of members of the public," she said.
Protest organisers were contacted for comment by the Leader, but didn't want to be identified or quoted.
A spokesperson for the rally falsely claimed coronavirus vaccines are experimental drugs which are unsafe to use before hanging up.
Hunter New England Health's public health controller Dr David Durrheim reassured parents on Friday that vaccinating children aged five to 11 for the virus was safe and effective.
"The vaccine is safe but the disease can have horrible outcomes," Dr Durheim said.
"The vaccine never gets into your DNA and it is literally broken down within days at the site of injection.
"So it is really implausible that this will have any long term effects because it doesn't hang around in the body. It is really only using our cells' own machinery to generate our own immune response to protect us and our children against the virus."
Children aged five to 11 have been eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination since January 10.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation does not "support restricting the activities of children in this age group who are not vaccinated or have only received one dose."
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Andrew Messenger
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Politics, environment and energy journalist at the Northern Daily Leader. I also write about health, bushfires and occasionally music. I'm a Brisbane boy by way of Charleville and Hobart who now lives in in beautiful New England. Get me at andrew.messenger@austcommunitymedia.com.au
