The anti-vaccine campaign being waged across the world has the potential to cause huge damage.
Misinformation, scaremongering, threats and abuse are trademarks of anti-vaxxers the world over. They do not seek calm and collected discussion, they are hell-bent on scaring people into submission, preying on ignorance and ignoring facts.
In the UK, there has been outrage at the cynical targeting of schools, school staff and students, with intimidating protests outside school gates and even reports of death threats being received by school leaders.
The anger directed at schools comes in opposition to the 12–15-year-old vaccination programme, which is being rolled out this term. Yet the programme is entirely voluntary. Parents must give their consent (or in rare cases of disagreement between parents and child, Gillick competency be established). Schools are not ‘promoting’ the vaccination, they are simply hosting the School Age Immunisation Service (SAIS). By targeting schools, many anti-vaxxers show just how ignorant they are – believing headteachers to be legally liable or claiming that forced vaccinations are taking place.
For me, the final straw came with the fake vaccine consent form that has been sent to many schools – a number of which sent it onto parents without verifying its contents (SecEd, 2021). The form, which carried an NHS logo, contained fake information and manipulated statistics about vaccine side-effects.
Let's put some facts on the table. As of September 29, 2021, there have been 1 698 UK reports of suspected adverse reactions to the vaccine in which the patient died shortly afterwards. This does not mean that the vaccine caused the death. This is after nearly 49 million first doses and 45 million second doses (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency [MHRA], 2021). And, of course, what many anti-vaxxers neglect to mention: there have been 136 846 COVID deaths (at the time of the MHRA report cited above).
All vaccines and medicines have some side effects. These need to be balanced against the expected benefits. The scientists charged with making these calls have decided that on balance there is marginal benefit for 12–15-year-olds in having one dose (taking into account the potential impact of COVID but also wider factors such as the risk of missing education).
When we are discussing potential known harms from vaccination, we are mainly discussing myocarditis – a rare inflammation of the heart muscle. The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) says that for every one million children aged 12–15 to get a first dose, we can expect to see between 3 and 17 cases of myocarditis (JCVI, 2021).
This all means that informed choice is vital. But this informed choice cannot take place in an atmosphere of febrile anti-vax protests, threats and abuse. Parents and students need to be given the facts and then the space to make their decisions.
I am the first to acknowledge that the choice is not straightforward. When it comes to your own child, hard statistics won't always cut it. This is where professional dialogue with parents is crucial. There can be side effects – but they are so incredibly rare that when you compare them to the threat posed by COVID, the choice for many becomes an easy one.
Having said this, anyone who chooses to reject the vaccine because of this risk must have this decision respected. What we must not stand for are parents and students refusing the vaccine based on scaremongering, threats and misinformation.