Anti-vaccination conspiracy leaflets delivered to Worthing homes

The oddly formatted handout asks residents ‘are you prepared to take the gamble?’ and questions the safety of the vaccines, which were developed and approved significantly quicker than conventional vaccines following a herculean effort from the world’s scientific community.

The chief medical officer for Sussex NHS Commissioners, Dr Elizabeth Gill, has assured residents the vaccines are safe.

“Coronavirus is the greatest health challenge in living memory, taking loved ones from us and disrupting every part of our lives,” she said.

“Vaccines mark a decisive turning point in the battle with the pandemic. NHS vaccination programmes have successfully helped overcome tuberculosis, polio, and smallpox, and have now turned their focus to Covid-19.

“The vaccines being offered by the NHS have met the strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Any coronavirus vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through. The MHRA follows international standards of safety.

“Getting your Covid-19 vaccination is one of the best defences against the virus. It should help reduce the rates of serious illness, reduce pressure on the NHS and social care services, and above all, save lives.”

The leaflet, which does not appear to be attributed to any group or individual, also wrongly claims the survival rate for Covid-19 is the same as the flu.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 48,168 people died of Covid-19 in the UK between January and August, 2020. During that time period, just 394 died from influenza (a disease for which we have a vaccine).

Covid-19 has also proven to be significantly more contagious than flu, cases more serious illnesses in some people and takes longer to show symptoms – meaning carriers can spread it more easily without knowing.

Since the pandemic began early last year, 109,335 people in the UK have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, according to Public Health England.

That figure includes 135 people in Worthing, 65 in Adur and 204 in Arun up to January 22.

More than ten million people in the UK have now received their first dose of either the Oxford-AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.