蜜芽传媒

It's meant to be shocking: a television advert showing a young, panicked looking woman in hospital - hooked up to a ventilator and heart monitor, struggling to breath.

It's a stylised dramatization to show the severest effects of Covid-19 - and it's being broadcast as part of new campaign by the Australian government to promote vaccine uptake and encourage people to stay at home.

But many are unhappy that the advert implies the woman ought to have done something - when actually, as a young woman, it would be difficult for her to get a vaccine.

Nick Bonyhady is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. He says the government is really concerned about the outbreak in New South Wales which is spreading quickly amongst the young.

"They've in fact had the ad since last year but there haven't been severe enough outbreaks to justify its use. And now we're seeing a rip-cord, deploy the parachute moment in the use of this advertisement today."

(Photo: A screenshot from the advert which is being widely shared online. Credit: Twitter)

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