Professor mystified by reluctance to take up vaccines
THE director of applied public health research at the University of Birmingham, has said he cannot understand why so many people persisted in rejecting the vaccine.
Professor KK Cheng, praised the decision to delay opening up society further, saying the current level of freedoms were ‘fairly extensive’.
“There is every likelihood that if we had moved to Stage 4 of the roadmap now, the case rates would continue to rise.
“But this window gives us a chance of increasing vaccinations, that gives us a chance – but only if people take the vaccine when offered it.”
He added: “I wish I knew why there was still resistance. There was the worry about blood clots and some suffer side effects that might make others wary, but the important thing now is to drive home the message again that the current measures give lots of scope for people to get together, and so lots of chance for the virus to spread.
“We saw the queues to get into the pub to watch the football, the parks full – and these are all perfectly permissible, but there is a lot of Delta variant around and it’s extremely transmissible.
“Those who have had two jabs, unless they have a condition that compromises their immunity and protection, can be reasonably reassured they will not suffer major complications even if they catch it.
“That is not the case for those who have not been vaccinated. Those who are not vaccinated should be worried about getting infected. I expect the rates in Birmingham will keep rising for a week or two, without any more restrictions. That is why I would absolutely urge people to take the vaccine when offered it.”
He added: “There will
always be a proportion of people, even with two jabs, who become ill. But even for them the risk of dying is much, much lower, and most people will be protected. The vaccine is the key.”
He said the vaccine rollout programme was currently juggling the complexity of delivering the second dose of the AstraZeneca jab to older people, while delivering the Pfizer dose to younger people, requiring more complex delivery and storage rules. It is complicated but they are managing the process very well.
“I would say that if anyone who has had a first dose of AstraZeneca is now worried about getting their second dose after the reports about blood clots, please, don’t be put off.
Research has shown that the risk from the second dose around blood clots is absolutely negligible. It was a tiny risk anyway, but for a second dose it is even less so.”
Meanwhile, Birmingham doctor Ron Daniels, an intensive care doctor and CEO of charity UK Sepsis Trust, said he thought the way people described vaccines “demeaned” their importance.
Daniels, who has a large Twitter following of more than 50,000 people, wrote on the platform: “I’m personally offended by the use of the term ‘jabs’.
“It demeans the vaccines, and sounds a little assaultey to me. Yet our health secretary happily uses the term. How do others feel?”