Vaccine scare stories ‘put children’s lives at risk’

Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at Oxford University, issued the warning amid claims that a Russian disinformation campaign is seeking to spread fear about a Covid-19 vaccine
REUTERS

Children's lives could be put in danger by disinformation campaigns about vaccines, a leading expert warned today.

Andrew Pollard, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity at Oxford University, issued the warning amid claims that a Russian disinformation campaign is seeking to spread fear about a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

The Times reported that the campaign crudely claims the vaccine could turn people into monkeys because it uses a chimpanzee virus as a vector and reported that Russia is targeting countries where it wants to sell its own Sputnik V vaccine, as well as western nations.

Professor Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Any misinformation where we’re trying to think of interventions to help end the pandemic... anything that undermines that and undermines trust in the public health approach that’s been taken, could be extremely dangerous.

“Vaccines are such an important cornerstone of public health for children that anything that drives that wider view in societies around the world that there’s something unsafe about them really risks the health of children around the world as well.”

Moscow has denied involvement in the disinformation campaign.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab branded any attempt to spread lies about coronavirus and a vaccine as “utterly deplorable”.

He added: “It’s a shabby piece of disinformation but it is very serious because it is an attempt to disrupt the attempts to find a safe vaccine.

“We know that Russia has a track record of using disinformation as a foreign policy tool.”

The Oxford experts hope their vaccine will be proven to be safe and effective from the end of this year or early next year.

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