'If social media didn't exist I would have no doubts over Covid vaccine', caller tells LBC
8 December 2020, 11:42
'If social media didn't exist I would have no doubts over Covid vaccine'
This caller told LBC that social media had influenced his opinion over the Covid vaccine, and without it he would have been 100% sure it was safe.
Ady from Bristol called LBC to speak to James O'Brien as the first doses of coronavirus vaccine begin to be injected into arms across the UK.
The caller told James that he was on the fence when it comes to getting the jab.
His worry was that unless the Government can convince people who are "borderline" around getting the vaccine then they will have to introduce some kind of 'vaccine passport.'
Ady warned that "the moment they do that they play into the hands of the nutty conspiracy theorists."
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Earlier a British grandmother was the first in the world to receive Pfizer's Covid-19 jab outside a clinical trial as the NHS began its mass vaccination programme across the UK.
The caller said because of the category he was in he thought he would be one of the last to get the jab.
James pointed out that there was "background chatter" which contained a "lot of nonsense and dangerous nonsense," around the vaccine
This led to the LBC presenter asking Ady if he thought he would still be wary about the vaccine without the negative views.
Amazingly, the caller replied, "if social media didn't exist I probably would have no doubts whatsoever that this vaccine was 100% safe and the way forward."
Boris Johnson 'excited' to see Covid-19 vaccine rolled out across UK
James then questioned the caller asking him who he followed on social media with the most followers.
Pointing out his experience of Twitter and his 759,000 followers, James gave the caller some advice.
"Listen to me, Twitter is not real life, most of social media is nonsense, rely on the thing you would have relied on before social media existed and get the bloody jab."
To which the caller simply replied, "true."
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Reaction from 90-year-old who received first Covid-19 vaccine in UK
Jabs will be administered at 70 hospital hubs across the UK from Tuesday - dubbed "V-Day" by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
The NHS vaccine programme will see patients aged 80 and over who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, among the first to receive the jab.
Care home providers have been asked to book staff into vaccination clinics, while GPs are also expected to begin vaccinating care home residents shortly.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she had "a bit of a lump in the throat" watching Mrs Keenan receive her jab.
While Health Secretary Matt Hancock told LBC's Nick Ferrari that he had a tear in his eye when he saw the first jab give.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Tuesday was a "momentous day in our fight against Covid-19".
