Austria mourns suicide of doctor earmarked by anti-vaccine campaigners

• Austrian politicians called for national unity after a doctor committed suicide.
• Lisa-Maria Kellermayr had received death threats from anti-vaccination extremists and coronavirus pandemic conspiracy theorists.
• Her body was discovered in her Upper Austria office on Friday.
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Austrian politicians called for national unity after a doctor committed suicide after receiving death threats from anti-vaccination extremists and coronavirus pandemic conspiracy theorists.

“Let us put an end to this fear-mongering and intimidation. In our Austria, hatred and prejudice have no place “President Alexander Van der Bellen praised Lisa-Maria Kellermayr as a doctor who advocated for healing, disease prevention, and a careful response to the pandemic.

“But some people have been enraged by this. And these people scared her, threatened her, first on the internet and then also in person, directly in her practice.”

On Friday, the body of the doctor, who had frequently given media appearances about fighting the coronavirus pandemic and pushing vaccinations, was discovered in her Upper Austria office.

Prosecutors were quoted in the media as saying they had discovered a suicide note but were not planning an autopsy.

Austria cancelled plans to make COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for adults last month, claiming that the policy was unlikely to improve one of Western Europe’s lowest vaccination rates.

Tens of thousands of people marched in monthly rallies last year against lockdowns and plans to make vaccinations mandatory, highlighting a broad rift over public health policies that many countries have faced.

However, the doctor’s death, which the Austrian physicians’ union said represented a broader trend of threats against medical professionals, stunned the country.
“Hatred towards humans is unforgivable. This animosity must end “Health Minister Johannes Rauch stated.

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