The e-mail comes from someone with a sister named "Kim" and says that doctors at some unknown "Baptist" hospital are telling their staff and patients not to get the vaccine because of side effects. The e-mail claims that the vaccine is giving people Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder that can affect the nervous system.

However, 9NEWS has learned this e-mail is a hoax and authorities are telling people who get it to ignore it.

The e-mail has gone to several people, almost like spam, and in every case is basically a word for word copy.

9NEWS spoke with two people that had gotten the e-mail. In one case, the receiver got it from his daughter, but when we called her, she had no idea where the e-mail originally came from.

In the other case, the person who supposedly sent the e-mail and whose name and work number was on it was upset since she had gotten many calls about the e-mail but is adamant that this it didn't come from her and she has no idea how her name and number got on it.

It appears that people sending the e-mail could be trying to legitimize it by using other people's accounts to send it.

The date on the first e-mail 9NEWS saw, Sept. 13, was well before the vaccine was released and well before any side effects would be noticed.

To reiterate, the e-mail is a hoax, and the best advice is to delete it not to send it on to others.

To see an example of the e-mail, visit http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=51285.