Anti-vaxxers are ‘deeply evil, wicked people’ says Cambridge councillor amid concern over Covid-19 vaccination rates in city
A Labour councillor has declared anti-vaccination campaigners as “deeply evil, wicked people” who “are threatening us all”.
Richard Howitt made the comment as he chaired a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council adults and health committee, where concerns were voiced over the fact that Covid-19 vaccination rates in Cambridge are the lowest in the East of England.
The younger demographic in Cambridge is thought to be partly responsible for the lower vaccination rates, but the meeting was told “a combination of factors” was likely to be behind the numbers.
Cllr Howitt, who represents Petersfield in Cambridge on both the county and city councils, hit out at those spreading misinformation on Covid-19 vaccines.
He said: “Anti-vaxxers are deeply evil, wicked people, are threatening us all, and we have all got a personal direct responsibility and duty to speak out for vaccination.”
He spoke after hearing that health authorities were particularly focused on addressing vaccination rates in Cambridge.
Cllr Howitt passed on his “deep thanks” to all the staff involved in the arrangements for vaccination and welcomed efforts in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough - including walk-in clinics and pop-up sites - to increase vaccination uptake. More than 30 walk-in clinics are running across the county until Sunday, with more expected to be organised in the coming weeks.
“Many of us were worried that Cambridge has the lowest [vaccination] rate in the whole of the East of England,” he said.
Recent figures reported to the meeting show only 53.4 per cent of people in Cambridge have had their first dose while 32.2 per cent of people have had their second dose.
Across the county, 72.4 per cent of people aged 18 and over have had their first dose, while 58.1 per cent have had their second dose.
Nationally, the average is 81.6 per cent for first doses and 59.9 per cent for second doses.
The city is experiencing notably increasing infection rates as the Delta variant of the virus spreads.
Cambridge recorded 114 cases of Covid-19 in the week to June 19, up 78 (216.7 per cent) on the previous week.
Cllr Howitt was himself struck down by Covid-19 in March 2020, spending time in Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
He represented the East of England in the European Parliament from 1999 until 2016. He was elected to the city and council councils in May 2021.
The government has expressed concern about the spread of misinformation on Covid-19 vaccines by anti-vaxxers.
In March, vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said that it had been “very, very cleverly, hyper super-forensically targeted at different communities”.
He told the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee: “Some of the anti-vax messages, which are clearly directed at both young men and women around fertility, are false, but proving to be sadly quite potent.”
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