Always believe the truth

Whilst I still have an unfortunate tendency to become a little lairy at times, I do have quite a long fuse when it comes to getting angry. That is to say, I don’t have much of a temper. But watching last night’s Panorama on BBC One I could feel the red mist descending. Brilliantly performing its vital public service role, the programme exposed the anti-vaxxers for the dangerous loons that they are.

The show was well put together and very clever. Firstly, we were showed clips of the anti-vaxxers, marching, shouting, threatening and then appearing in videos telling lies. Panorama then conducted an experiment to see how much effect the videos in particular had on ordinary folk. And the effects were terrifying.

One video showed speaker after speaker from all over the world, all of whom claimed to be doctors, nurses and scientists. Every single one of them lied. But this type of lying, whilst not convincing people that COVID didn’t exist and that vaccines change your DNA, sowed seeds of doubt.

The programme dug deeper into who these ‘experts’ really were. It turned out that some were homeopaths, an alternative form of treatment for which there is no evidence that it has any effect on anything. I was half-expecting Billy Connolly to appear with his “smell yourself better” demolition of aromatherapy, but the clowns in the video rather did his job for him.

When genuine experts answered questions from those who had doubts about vaccines, every single one of the doubters took theirs. Hearing evidence-based facts explained by experts usually has a very positive effect. I hope this kind of persuasion can be rolled out across the land.

Those who refuse the vaccine delay the return to normal life. If even 10% refuse to take it, the vaccine will continue to circulate in large numbers and the refuseniks will take down even those who have been vaccinated but the effects have started to wear off. We will be stuck with lockdowns, social distancing, staying at home and every other awful scenarios forever and a day.

I suppose I shouldn’t ridicule the anti-vaxxers. After all, it’s a free country, isn’t it? And in a free country, can’t you say what you want? I’ll simply say this: if you are going to present evidence-free nonsense to the public which could end up in illness and even death, you need to be kept off the air and, frankly, put in a straitjacket before being put in stocks and have old fruit thrown at you. Failing that, your unhinged and dangerous views should be challenged and ridiculed.

I’d calmed down by the end of the programme because it had done its job. As ever with these things, always believe the truth. Anti-vaxxers don’t know the meaning of the word.