Epidemiologist who led Australia through COVID dies aged 70
By Malcolm Brown and Tim Barlass
Mary-Louise McLaws, the renowned epidemiologist who became the trusted voice to the nation during the pandemic, has died at the age of 70 after a long illness.
In January 2022, McLaws revealed she had been diagnosed with a brain tumour after seeking treatment for a severe headache.
“Our dear Mary-Louise passed away in her sleep on Saturday night,” her husband Richard Flook said. “She had been so well cared for by the nurses and doctors at Wolper Hospital in Woollahra and had enjoyed the visits of her many friends who have been so supportive of her and our family. We will be planning her funeral service at Emanuel Synagogue in the next few days.”
Professor Mary-Louise McLaws died after a long illness.Credit: Louise Kennerley
McLaws, born of Jewish parents in Tasmania on March 17, 1953, was an internationally renowned epidemiologist and professor at the University of New South Wales School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
She also served as World Health Organisation (WHO) adviser to China and helped with infection-control research in Cambodia, China, Bangladesh, Mali, Indonesia, Iran, Vietnam, Taiwan and Turkey.
Appointed director of the Public Health Unit for the Sydney South West Area Health Service, she made significant contributions to eliminating HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as being pivotal in containing the spread of the swine flu.
When the COVID virus unleashed itself on the world, McLaws became widely known to the Australian public through her media appearances, advising on the best course of action.
She was also a member of the WHO Health Emergencies Program Experts Advisory Panel for Infection Prevention and Control Preparedness, Readiness and Response to COVID-19.
McLaws was also vocal about closing the Australian border early and never backed away from holding governments to account for their pandemic responses. She was among the first experts to talk about the need for face masks when the idea of the public wearing them every day seemed unimaginable.
The news last year that she had been diagnosed with a brain tumour led to an outpouring of tributes from thousands of people who had felt reassured by her expertise.
Last July she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the General Division in the Queen’s Birthday Honours “for distinguished service to medical research, particularly to epidemiology and infection prevention, to tertiary education, and to health administration”.
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