By James Simons And Charlotte Webster-
Claims by an Oxford professor that Uk hospitals are filled with unvacicnated patients is in dispute and perceived by many members of the public as media propaganda.
Professor, Sir Andrew Pollard, said an “ongoing horror” of patients struggling to breath in hospital is now are unvaccinated, according to Prof Sir Andrew Pollard.
He said that although the more transmissible Delta variant continues to infect thousands, most of those who are fully vaccinated will experience only “mild infections” that are “little more than an unpleasant inconvenience”.
“Among the general public, the pandemic is still regarded as a silent pestilence, made visible in the images of patients fighting for their next breath … This ongoing horror, which is taking place across ICUs in Britain, is now largely restricted to unvaccinated people.
“Generally, Covid-19 is no longer a disease of the vaccinated; vaccines tend to limit its suffocating affliction, with a few exceptions.”
However, researchers examing the veracity of claims around vaccinated patients were referred to a publication by fullfact today, disputing the claims, and confirming the percentage of unvaccinated patients in hospital to be 35%.
Professional contributors of full fact suggested that research shows that the vaccines remain highly effective in preventing hospitalisation with Covid, citing the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), who gave a consensus view on the effectiveness of the Covid vaccines against severe disease.
They said: “For hospitalisation, with both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, protection is ~80% after one dose and ~95% after the second dose.
Doubts
Claims from government scientists are unfortunately not much believed by the public because of worrying contradictions by the same scientists, sometimes unintentional.
Other reasons for scepticism includes suspicions of motives, potential incentives or agendas of those making the claims, and conspiracy theories.
Public doubt in the claims of professional scientists can be dangerous, especially where truthful claims are disregarded due to the damaged credibility of government officials like Matt Hancock, Dominic Cummings, and Professor Neil Ferguson, all of whom broke Covid rules.
Limited though ongoing face to face research of 636 people in the last week, revealed that 64 %of the British publish do not believe claims made in the media about the ratio of vaccinated to unvaccinated people in hospital due to COVID-19.
Respondents generally felt the claims made were simply to encourage the public to get vaccinated, rather than giving them factual information.
Of those who expressed doubt in publicised claims surrounding the ratio of vaccinated to unvaccinated patients 21% of them had received one doe of the vaccine, and 85 of them were double vaccinated.
A high 85% of them said independent research of those figures was necessary, and 15% said they completly trusted publicised announcements about the ratio of vaccinated to unvaccinated patients.
Many cited the fact that a number of double vaccinated people still end up in hospital, though the vaccine has never been said to be completly perfect.
The research which began in the second week of November was conducted by members of The Eye Of Media.Com alongside independent researchers, and some university students.”
Pollard, who made his claim in the UK Guardian today, is among those behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, and probably should not be making such claims even if true because of the associated suspicions that come with it, given his potential vested interest.
The professor said Covid would still pile pressure on the NHS this winter – with unvaccinated patients requiring intensive care and double-jabbed patients who are older and frail still at risk of “life-threatening” health issues.
“The latest wave of the virus in the UK, which is now rising rapidly in parts of Europe, will directly translate into a stream of mostly unvaccinated patients entering ICU,” he said in the article jointly authored with Prof Brian Angus, professor of infectious disease at the University of Oxford. “To prevent serious illness, these people need first and second doses of the vaccine as soon as possible.
“For those of us fortunate enough to have already been vaccinated, the story now seems very different. For most vaccinated individuals, these mild infections are little more than an unpleasant inconvenience.”.
“No single measure by itself is going to be successful; we need the combination of measures, which includes re-vaccination, third doses, but also wearing masks and being very careful not to transmit the virus.
The opinions of those surveyed alongside the findings of researchers in fullfact has no bearing on the effectiveness or otherwise of being vaccinated, despite questions as to why some of those vaccinated still end up in hospital.