Liberals' anti-vaxxer doctor from George Town 'undermines' public health

The state's "highly concerned" peak medical group has slammed Premier Jeremy Rockliff's decision to allow GP Julie Sladden to stand for the Liberals.

Dr Sladden, who has a "passion for transparency in healthcare", publicly voiced her latest opposition to COVID-19 vaccines two weeks before her candidacy announcement.

AMA Tasmania vice president Annette Barratt said the GP's views were "dangerous and misleading" and directly conflicted with government health advice on COVID vaccines.

"It is untenable for any government trying to urge Tasmanians to follow the best clinical advice and vaccinate to have one of its own undermining that message," Dr Barratt said.

Labor's Dean Winter has jumped onto the issue, repeating a call for Dr Sladden to be disendorsed.

"This has now become a critical question of principle and trust for Mr Rockliff and what he actually stands for,"

"He's made a serious error of judgment, and for the sake of his credibility and his party's, he needs to disendorse her and find another candidate, hopefully, one that's not an anti-vaxxer, climate change denier or under investigation by the integrity commission.

Dr Sladden, a George Town native who sits on the West Tamar council as a Legana representative, was announced as a Liberal candidate two days ago.

On February 6, Dr Sladden wrote for Spectator Australia against COVID-19 vaccines.

"I argued that mandates violated someone's ability to give their consent because there was pressure, coercion, and manipulation," she said.

"Also, people couldn't give fully informed consent to a product that had been around for less than a year as the risks were not yet entirely known."

AMA Tasmania vice president Annette Barratt said the community looked to its leaders for accurate information.

"Doctors have [high] standing in the eyes of the community when talking about health matters. With that privilege comes a responsibility to be careful about what you say and ensure your medical opinions are based on peer-reviewed evidence," she said.

"COVID vaccines have saved lives and continue to do so."