Norman Swan is named to the Order of Australia
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ABC’s health guru Norman Swan will receive one of Australia’s highest honors for his commentary on the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr Swan will become a member of the Order of Australia as part of the Australia Day honors roll on Thursday, along with 735 others, including actor David Wenham.
The Scottish-born doctor will receive the high honor ‘for his significant service to the media as a commentator on science and health’.
Joining the order will allow you to use the ‘AM’ suffix after your name. It is the second level of the Order of Australia after the OAM.
He will also appear on a newly created Covid-19 Honor Roll which includes 77 Australians recognized for their contribution in support of Australia’s response to the pandemic.
ABC’s health guru Norman Swan will receive one of Australia’s highest honors for his commentary on the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Swan has not treated patients since joining ABC in 1982, but he remains licensed because his work in the media counts as a medical practice.
Membership of the Order of Australia will be awarded solely on the basis of your feedback in the media.
“As someone who has chosen to become an Australian and love this country, it is an incredible honour,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
Six Australians will be made Companions of the order, the highest existing level, along with 47 officers, 177 members and 506 receiving an OAM.
There will also be 30 Order of Australia Military Division Award recipients, 217 Meritorious Awards and 64 Distinguished and Conspicuous Awards.
They will be announced on Australia Day along with body image advocate Taryn Brumfitt for Australian of the Year and soccer star Awer Mabil for Young Australian of the Year.
Dr. Swan became a household name during the coronavirus pandemic, where he was one of Australia’s foremost experts.
Dr. Swan has won many awards and accolades for his work at ABC over the last four decades, including a 1988 Gold Walkley Ending or Exposing Fraudulent Research.
Dr. Swan spent decades reporting on health issues, winning the Gold Walkley in 1988 and spending three years running Radio National.
But he only became a household name during the coronavirus pandemic, where he was one of Australia’s foremost experts.
From the beginning, he advocated for a strong public health response to the virus and supported lockdowns, masks and business closures.
Critics called him a Covid doomsday peddler of worst-case scenarios and made terrifying predictions that turned out to be dead wrong.
His credibility came under fire in November when he suggested that the fatal heart attacks of cricket legend Shane Warne and Labor senator Kimberley Kitching, both 52, were likely related to Covid.
Dr Swan told Daily Mail Australia at the time that it was “too much of a coincidence” that they both died after recent Covid infections, but was forced to apologize when Senator Kitching’s furious family told him that she never contracted the virus. virus.
Instead, Senator Kitching suffered from hyperthyroidism in the months before her death, although her symptoms were improving.
ABC admitted that his comments violated its editorial standards and called it out during discussions with station management.
He graduated from the University of Aberdeen Medical School in 1976 and obtained a Diploma in Child Health from the Royal Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons, London.
Medicine was not his first love, since as a child he dreamed of being an actor, but his Jewish mother did not approve.
Dr Swan came under fire in November for suggesting that the fatal heart attacks of cricket legend Shane Warne and Senator Kimberley Kitching could be related to Covid, when Senator Kitching (pictured) never had Covid
After graduating from medical school, he applied to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but his audition was “embarrassing and amateurish because I forgot my lines”.
Instead, he specialized in pediatrics and, in a quarter-life crisis, moved to Australia and worked at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children in Sydney while writing medical articles.
Then, in 1982, he saw an ad for a job on ABC medical shows and applied. The days of her treating patients were numbered.
Dr. Swan started The Health Report on ABC Radio in 1985 and has been running it ever since, along with the more recent Coronacast during the pandemic.
He won his Gold Walkley for an investigation that exposed fraudulent research conducted by gynecologist William McBride, leading to this disgraced doctor being banned from practicing.
Dr. Swan won a Gold Walkley in 1988 for research that exposed fraudulent research conducted by gynecologist William McBride, leading to this disgraced doctor being banned from practicing.
Then, in 1990, he took over ABC Radio National for three years, increasing its audience by 30 percent and signing many future stars.
Then, in 1990, he took over as director of ABC Radio National for three years, increasing its audience by 30 percent and signing many future stars.
Since then, he has hosted the science television shows Catalyst and Quantum and appeared regularly on various other ABC shows.
Dr. Swan was also the primary health expert on The Biggest Loser for six years, along with trainers Michelle Bridges and Steve ‘Commando’ Willis.
He capitalized on his popularity, or notoriety, depending on his assessment of his Covid coverage, to publish two books: So you think you know what’s good for you in 2021 and So you want to live longer in 2022.