Opinion: Dangerous Covid conspiracies should be ignored

There have always been concerns about all vaccines – and taking any vaccine does involve a slight degree of risk.

There has been a recent case in this area that had a very tragic outcome. I feel very sorry for the family concerned and I would fully understand any reservations they may have over vaccines.

But looking at it objectively, the risk one faces from not having a vaccine when offered it is much, much greater than the risk from the vaccine itself.

Perhaps the government was very quick to get as many vaccines as possible in arms during the early months of 2021 – but it was also quick to change the recommendation about giving the Astra Zeneca injection to young people when a potential issue was identified.

But it seems clear that while hundreds of people may have been made ill, or even died, by vaccines, across the planet millions of lives have been saved by them.

What is worrying now is that quite extraordinary conspiracy theories now seem to be developing – and are not only being taken up by one or two maverick MPs but also, through social media, by a handful of councillors in Suffolk.

One midlands MP, in particular, has been spreading what most people with any real knowledge of vaccines and covid consider to be misinformation – suggesting that the main vaccines are unsafe.

He has even gone so far to suggest that the covid pandemic was engineered by governments to induce mass panic and suggested that the basic illness was nothing to worry about.

I don’t know of any reputable doctor or scientist who believes this – but this kind of rubbish has been spread by at least three county and district councillors here in Suffolk through their social media sites.

I’ve seen one who has retweeted nonsense from an obscure cancer “expert” who has suggested it is dangerous for people on chemotherapy to be vaccinated.

As someone who has regular contact with oncologists and cancer nurses, the advice to me has always been to take any vaccines offered. They’re convinced of their efficacy. 

I’m up to date with my vaccines – and when I did test positive for covid in the summer it was a very mild inconvenience and I got over it very quickly.

Compared with the horror stories we were hearing in the spring of 2020 and the winter of 2021 what was the big difference? Most of us had had vaccines which enabled us to fight the infection!

So why are these councillors trying to persuade people not to trust the vaccines? Why are they delibrately trying to get people to disregard their own government’s advice (they are all Tories so far as I can see)?

I am not aware that any of them are scientists. I am not any of them are skilled in vaccine development. I’m not aware that any of them have the faintest idea what they are talking about.

But they are writing things on social media that are calculated to cause distress and anxiety to normal people – their own voters.

Have they bothered to engage their brain and think what effect retweeting a rogue doctor’s claim that vaccines can be harmful to those on chemotherapy might have on a cancer patient? 

Has it not occurred to them why the government is advising people with cold symptoms to wear a mask when mingling with other people? It’s hardly imposing a lockdown.

I haven’t named the councillors involved because I don’t want to draw any attention to their reprehensible and frankly obscene social media posts.

But I am disappointed that their political leaders at county and district leadership level haven’t been seen to do something about it.

There may have been a quiet word in the ear for all I’m aware – if so, it hasn’t worked!

And the fact is they are spreading dangerous disinformation and bringing their political party into disrepute. Their fearmongering has no place in decent society.