IN MY VIEW ... Beware the Covid-19 anti-vaxxers

THERE is a dawning realisation we are not going to be free of the coronavirus until there is a safe and effective vaccine.

If one does arrive, it will be as welcome as the polio jab was in the 1950s. But I predict that, as memories of 2020 fade, some people will refuse to have it. Accusations of every complication imaginable, from seizures to dementia, auto-immune disease and chronic fatigue, will be laid at its door, as has happened with virtually every new vaccine in recent years. There will come a time when everyone will claim to know of a case of vaccine injury, mostly unsubstantiated anecdotes, of course.

Anti-vaccine movements will arise across social media, scientific legitimacy will be questioned, and conspiracy theories will once again race around the world.

When Edward Jenner introduced the first ever vaccination in 1796, a life-saving protection against smallpox (which has now been eradicated), it was not long before there was resistance, with claims it was ‘un-Christian’. The Vaccination Act was duly introduced in 1853, making it compulsory for all babies to be inoculated against smallpox, and an anti-vaccination movement emerged, encouraging protests and riots.

We should all remember that history, and expect the unfailing tendencies of human nature, including inherent distrust, the potential for paranoia and the suspicion of science. When a vaccination does finally emerge for Covid-19, we must count our blessings — and doubt the naysayers.