Anti-vaxxers blamed as third of Britons may refuse vaccine

ALMOST a third of people in the UK may opt out of a coronavirus vaccine if one is developed, a poll has suggested.

Nearly one in five British adults said they would either probably or definitely refuse a vaccine, according to a Yougov poll of 1,663 adults, while another 15 per cent said they did not know how they felt about it.

However, scientists say that between 70 and 90 per cent of the population would have to get a vaccine for it to be effective in stopping the spread of Covid-19, which has killed more than half a million people since it erupted in China six months ago.

The scepticism about a vaccine comes after an explosion of “antivaxxer” content online and in social media, according to the Centre for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). It found anti-vaccine social media pages and advocates had added 7.7 million more followers in the UK and US since the outbreak. In total, the pages have 57 million followers across Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and Instagram.

The poll also found that people who got their information from social media were more likely to be sceptical about vaccines, and suggested that channels were not doing enough to counter disinformation. imran Ahmed, the CCDH chief executive, said: “Our hope for a return to normal life rests with scientists developing a successful vaccine.

“But social media companies’ irresponsible decision to continue to publish anti-vaccine propaganda means a vaccine may not be effective in containing the virus.

“The price for their greed is a cost paid in lives.”

The social media companies said they had taken strong steps to stop harmful disinformation from spreading on their platforms, including removing it, hiding it in searches, and highlighting expert information as an alternative.