Suicide of an Austrian doctor under pressure from anti-vaxxers

The constant attacks and threats to life coming from anti-vaxxers forced a doctor from Austria to commit suicide.

On August 1, a memorial service was held in front of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna for 36-year-old Lisa-Maria Kellermayr, an Austrian doctor. She was the victim of threats from pandemic conspiracy theorists and anti-vaccine threats that continued day after day for 7 months.

A young woman was found dead on Friday in her own clinic in the small town of Seewalchen am Attersee in northern Austria. Law enforcement officers found a suicide note and confirmed that Kellermayr committed suicide.

Numerous patients and friends reel from the shock of her suicide and blame the authorities for failing to protect the doctor:

“It’s incredibly sad: @drlisamaria is dead. We talked for hours on the phone, the fear of persecution did not leave her. She felt abandoned by the authorities. What a drama!”

Physician Lisa-Maria Kellermayr helped those infected with the coronavirus. On a voluntary basis, the woman went to the homes of the sick, and after the appearance of the vaccine, she actively urged fellow citizens to get a life-saving vaccination.

Kellermayr has repeatedly appeared in the press with interviews, calling for the fight against the epidemic of coronavirus infection and vaccination. Her speeches provoked a strong reaction from the so-called covid dissidents, who threatened the doctor with brutal murder both on the Internet and in person, at her workplace. The Austrian Medical Association reports that many healthcare workers are being harassed by anti-vaxxers.

Kellemayr has spent tens of thousands of euros to improve security at her clinic. On several occasions, security officers confiscated knives from patients who came to her. In mid-July, Lisa-Maria succumbed to seven months of unprecedented pressure and threats and announced she was closing her practice. She said she could not offer her staff “any perspective on working under normal circumstances.”

Austrian authorities, Reuters, called for national unity after a doctor who faced death threats from vaccine opponents and conspiracy theorists about the coronavirus pandemic took her own life. President Alexander Van der Bellen said:

“Let’s end this intimidation and fear-mongering. Hatred and intolerance have no place in our Austria.”

Austrian Health Minister Johannes Rauch on Sunday, in connection with the death of Kellermayr, said that hatred against specific people is unforgivable and must be stopped.

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