Why is a trade union spreading doubt over the vaccine roll out?

We hear a lot these days about the need for responsible discourse around the pandemic. People who put into the public domain arguments and claims that are not fully supported by evidence and which can have harmful consequences are being called to account for their actions.

Anyone with a public profile should always be willing to answer for their words. And in the midst of a public health emergency, it’s only reasonable that anyone with a voice in the public square should take care to avoid unduly eroding public trust in Covid mitigation measures by spreading baseless claims and sowing unjustified doubt.

This is especially true of the Covid vaccination programme. Getting and keeping public buy-in for vaccinations is a matter of life and death: someone who gets the vaccine is simply less likely to die of Covid than a similar person who does not. The loss of public confidence in vaccines can have grave consequences.