Covid 19 coronavirus: Nurse attacked by violent husband who claimed he didn't consent to her vaccination

Police in Canada are hunting a man who brutally and repeatedly punched a female nurse in the face, claiming he didn't consent to his wife being vaccinated. Photo / AP

A female nurse was punched in the face "multiple times" and knocked to the ground in a vicious attack by a man who claimed his wife had been vaccinated without his "authorisation".

The shocking incident occurred in a pharmacy in Sherbrooke, Quebec in Canada on Monday morning, after a man stormed in and accused a female nurse in her 40s of vaccinating his wife.

Police spokesman Martin Carrier told CNN the man the nurse was seriously injured in the attack, which has stunned the Canadian population.

"Right at the beginning, the suspect was very angry, very aggressive. He asked the nurse why she vaccinated his wife without approval, without his consent," Carrier said.

"And he punched her right in the face multiple times so the nurse didn't have the time to defend or explain herself … and she fell to the ground and the suspect left running out of the drugstore."

The nurse was rushed to hospital by ambulance after the attack and was treated for "multiple injuries to the face" and a possible concussion.

The pharmacy has temporarily suspended its vaccination programme in the wake of the brutal incident.

While police do not have a photo of the suspect or footage of the incident, they are calling on the public for help in tracking him down.

The man is described as being aged between 30 and 45, with short dark hair, dark eyes, thick eyebrows and a tattoo of a cross on his hand.

Meanwhile, Benoit Morin, president of a Canadian pharmacists association, told CBC that consent was only required from the individual receiving the vaccination, and that the man's behaviour was baffling.

"When we have discussions with customers, I mean it's one on one with the patient," he explained.

"We don't need the family approval, so I don't know what happened, or where this thing comes from."

Quebec's order of nurses also condemned the attack on social media, branding the assault "unacceptable".

Tolérance zéro! Cette situation malheureuse est inacceptable pour tout professionnel de la santé. Nous souhaitons un bon rétablissement à cette infirmière.https://t.co/9iGxXVkm3G

— Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (@OIIQ) September 22, 2021

"Zero tolerance! This unfortunate situation is unacceptable to any healthcare professional. We wish this nurse a good recovery," the translated tweet reads.

More than three-quarters of the Canadian population is now fully vaccinated, although there have been recent reports of a rise in anti-vax protests, with a group harassing newly-re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and pelting him with gravel earlier this month after he had slammed "anti-vaxxer mobs".