Vaccines were approved in December 2020 and rolled out from January 2021 in the UK and US - marking the slow but steady (if omicron doesn’t f**k things up) denouement of the Covid crisis.
Yet despite lengthy and vigorous clinical trials, there has been some hesitancy among some people to get jabbed, ranging from more legitimate (but debunkable) concerns about the safety of a new drug, to the down right cranky.
Luckily for logic, the anti-vaxx movement’s attempts to assert their case have often backfired and there have been a few instances when they have well and truly been hoisted with by their own petard.
Here are eight of those times:
Gillian McKeith misunderstands pro-vax advert
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Showing a remarkable lack of comprehension, poo-lady McKeith gave the internet a laugh earlier this year when she misunderstood an advert which warned what might happen if you don’t get a jab.
The dubiously-qualified TV nutritionist shared an image of a van with an advert for a funeral on its side, saying “don’t get vaccinated” without realising that the van was part of a stunt to persuade people to get vaccinated to deal with a poor vaccine take-up in parts of America.
The funeral director knows something ...... are you listening ? pic.twitter.com/0ME3H63HKV
— Gillian McKeith (@GillianMcKeith) October 2, 2021
Better luck next time.
Piers Corbyn tricked into ‘accepting’ £10,000 to stop criticising AZ vaccine
Despite being so committed to the cause of nonsense that he recently released a ‘song’ about the inefficacy of facemasks, Corbyn (no the other one) seemed prepared to throw away his principles when YouTubers Josh Pieters and Archie Manners pranked him by posing as investors in the vaccine.
The pair said they wished to support his cause on the condition that he laid off AZ and focused on other vaccines instead and he agreed and accepted £10,000 - which unfortunately for him turned out to be monopoly money.
Yesterday @archiemanners and I convinced anti-vaxxer Piers Corbyn to take £10,000 he thought came from AstraZeneca to stop criticising their vaccine. Except it was monopoly money and we recorded the whole thing. https://t.co/XfW1deStQk
— Josh Pieters (@joshua_pieters) July 31, 2021
Following the incident, he said he had been “naive” and his nephew went as far as to call him a “tit”.
If the shoe fits...
Comedian’s ‘joke’ about young people getting the vaccine massively backfires
Not lining himself up for many comedy awards, Lee Hurst seemed to buy into the odd trope of claiming older generations were made of stronger stuff and young people today are ‘snowflakes’ when he mocked the youth for getting their vaccines.
1940: Young Brits refusing to give in to Nazis.
— Lee Hurst - Anti-vaxxer (apparently) (@LeeHurstComic) June 8, 2021
2021: Young Brits queuing up for jabs so they can go on holiday.
He was absolutely roasted but that didn’t make him close down his computer for long.
Later, he said that humanity had survived the Black Death without a vaccine, but neglected to mention it’s absolutely massive death toll.
Bant!
Naomi Wolf pranked into sharing fake doctor’s quote
Prominent anti-vaxxer Naomi Wolf was left rather red faced this March after she tweeted a quote from a “doctor” who was, in fact, a porn star.
The former political advisor was sent a photo of adult film star Johnny Sins wearing scrubs by The Intercept reporter Ken Klippenstein, accompanied with the quote – attributed to Dr. John Sims, MD – reading: “If a vaccine is effective, then why do you need to pressure people to take it.
“Informed consent means letting patients make their own choices.”
Later, she deleted it so she probably realised she’d been had.
Awkward.
Anti-vaxxers raid a BBC building that isn’t even in use
Angry at the broadcaster for publishing news about coronavirus, a group of anti-vaxxers attempted to storm a BBC building in August, not realising the particular building hasn’t been in use since 2013.
People thought it was pretty hilarious:
Was coming back home from centre of London and read about the anti-vax protests at BBC TV Centre, so went a different way than normal avoid Regent St. Then found out that the protest was at White City. Where the BBC stopped being in 2013. Amazing comedy work from those guys.
— David Baddiel (@Baddiel) August 9, 2021
Laurence Fox ripped a new one by GB News’ Tom Harwood
In a rare moment in which GB News showed itself to be useful, Tom Harwood slammed everyone’s least favourite anti-vaxxer Laurence Fox in July, telling him he was creating problems by encouraging his followers to reject the jab.
'The hell this country's been through for the last year and a half - the way out is the vaccine.'
— GB News (@GBNEWS) July 29, 2021
Tom Harwood tells Laurence Fox he should tell his 'legions of followers to get the jab.'
Watch GB News on Freeview 236. pic.twitter.com/hJhTdkLQ1g
He said: “You’ve used the word vaccine in a quote as if this isn’t the real vaccine; you’ve said that these haven’t passed their trials and they have passed their phase three clinical trials.
“You’ve said that young people shouldn’t get the vaccine when really we know that in order to reach herd immunity young people have to get this vaccine.
“Aren’t you part of the problem here?”
We’d say so.
UK anti-vaxxers boycott Costa over its policy in a different country
In August anti-vaxxers were very cross indeed after a photo of a list of Covid rules purporting to be affixed to an Irish branch of Costa went viral.
Following Irish government’s guidance at the time, the list reminded potential espresso sippers that they would need proof of vaccination to come in, or proof of immunity from a prior infection.
Despite no such rules applying in Britain, Prominent UK-based Covid sceptics like Fox declared a boycott of the coffee chain.
Never buying a coffee with you again. EVER. That’s £15 a week you’ve lost from me. Not that you’d give a shit, but I encourage everyone to #BoycottCosta @CostaCoffee https://t.co/2sgDyITurt
— Laurence Fox ✝️ (@LozzaFox) July 30, 2021
And we thought he was against cancel culture.
People fall for spoof TikTok warning about ‘vaccine bandits’
Despite it being obviously a joke, a number of people who saw a TikTok warning people to watch out for “vaccine bandits” jabbing people against their will in Los Angeles in August took it slightly too seriously.
Has anyone ever heard of the vaccine bandits from LA? And I bet not a lot of your have.
— DeVonta Smith for OROY (@SmittyFor6) August 10, 2021
The creator was moved to issue a statement explaining that it was a joke, after numerous people shared it to raise awareness of an issue that simply wasn’t happening.
You can listen to the likes of these people, or you can book your jab. What’s it to be?
