Government push to force young people to get jabs risks undermining trust in the vaccine, expert warns - as video of woman 'struggling to walk' after getting Pfizer is liked 100,000 times on Instagram
Ministers risk damaging trust in the vaccine if they strong-arm young people into getting jabbed, a government adviser has warned - as a video of a woman 'struggling to walk' was liked 100,000 times on Instagram.
In one of the posts, Georgia-Rose Segal, 34, from London, is seen staggering before nearly collapsing on to a kitchen floor. Another clip in the same series then shows her legs and feet spasming in a hospital bed.
The influencer yesterday said the symptoms developed after receiving her second Pfizer jab. She said she had been diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder, which can cause muscle weakness.
FND can be triggered by traumatic physical or emotional events, including head injury, a medical or surgical procedure, and vaccinations, although this is extremely rare.
In one of the posts, Instagram influencer Georgia-Rose Segal, 34, is seen struggling to walk before nearly collapsing on to a kitchen floor
One of the videos posted on Instagram shows Ms Segal struggling to walk in a hospital ward
HOW COULD THE PFIZER VACCINE LEAD TO WALKING DIFFICULTIES?
By Emily Craig, Health Reporter for MailOnline
For the vast majority of people the Pfizer vaccine causes only mild symptoms, such as a sore arm, headache and tiredness.
But Georgia-Rose Segal, 34, revealed she was diagnosed with Functional Neurological Disorder after a rare reaction to her second jab.
The condition affects how the brain and body send and receive signals, which can impact movement and concentration, cause seizures and impact how the body processes senses like touch and sound.
FND can be triggered by traumatic physical or emotional events, including head injury, a medical or surgical procedure, and vaccinations.
It is not exclusive to Covid vaccines and has been reported in response to jabs for other conditions. It has also been found in patients given an injection of harmless liquid saline.
Exactly how the condition occurs is still unknown, but it is not caused by an ingredient in a vaccine.
Until recently FND was called ‘conversion disorder’ because medics thought patients were converting stress into physical symptoms. But not all patients who develop the disorder have psychological problems.
The Pfizer jab has also been linked to heart inflammation in young people, with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency insisting the complication is still 'extremely rare' and 'typically mild'.
Modern’s vaccine, which also uses mRNA technology, is believed to carry the same risk of developing the heart problems, called myocarditis and pericarditis.
Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine has been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, which can cause sensory problems like numbness, weakness and pain and is usually felt in the feet, hands and limbs.
Meanwhile, the Oxford AstraZeneca jab has been linked to blood clots.
The Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation recommended in May that under-40s should not get the AstraZeneca jab because of the rare link.
Ms Segal announced yesterday that she had been released from hospital, and shared a photo of her using a Zimmer frame. The original video of her struggling to walk was uploaded onto Instagram account Imjustbait.
Recent figured have revealed that while infections among young adults have soared to a record high, vaccine uptake has slowed to a fraction of what it was in the spring.
One in three 18-to-29 year olds have still not had a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, NHS England figures show. But the virus is running rampant in this age group, with more than one in 100 aged 20 to 29 testing positive last week.
Professor Adam Finn, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said people could be 'nudged' to get jabbed but must not feel they are being forced into it.
Asked if the Government should use vaccine passports as a way of encouraging younger people to have their jabs, he told radio station LBC: 'It has to be done really quite carefully.
'If people begin to feel they are being kind of forced against their will to do something, then in a sense that's quite a damaging thing to do because it gives people the impression vaccination is something being imposed on them.
'Nudging can be done but it has to be done in a way that people don't feel they are being pushed into something they don't want to do.' The professor of paediatrics at Bristol University warned that young people are getting 'seriously ill' from coronavirus and he urged them to have their jabs.
He said there have been close to 200 admissions, with an average age of 40, in the city during the current wave caused by the spread of the Delta, or Indian, variant. 'We have had people under 30 on our intensive care unit and also requiring high-level oxygen therapy,' he added.
The video of Ms Segal appears to be fuelling anti-vaxxer sentiment on Instagram.
One comment from an account which has 86,000 followers said: 'This is why I have not got it yet, I'll get it if it's life and death but mans had covid and got over it like a cold and no one gave man a vaccine for my cold.'
Another, from a user with 20,000 followers, read: 'And this is the s*** they're trying to force into everyone's bodies... no thanks, had worse colds than Covid.'
Under plans being considered by the Government, football fans who are not fully vaccinated could be barred from attending Premier League matches from October.
Boris Johnson yesterday faced further criticism from backbench Conservatives who were already opposed to plans to introduce vaccine passports for entry into nightclubs this autumn.
Ms Segal confirmed yesterday that she had been released from hospital, and shared a photo of her using a Zimmer frame
There have been a total of 46,563,452 first doses of a vaccine administered and 37,160,659 second doses. Last Sunday 60 new deaths within 28 days of testing positive were recorded, meaning today's figure of 28 is a drop of more than 50 per cent
Talks are in an early phase with the Premier League to discuss whether supporters who have not been double-jabbed could be barred from entry, it is understood.
The use of vaccine passports could also be extended to lower divisions and other sports in England as ministers seek to reduce the surge in Covid cases as other restrictions are ended.
While no final decisions have been made, it is being discussed whether vaccine passports could be introduced for seated events with a capacity of 20,000 and over.
In unseated events such as music gigs, where there are greater concerns about strangers mingling and spreading Covid, the threshold for their introduction could be as low as 5,000.
The Football Supporters' Association, which has more than half a million members, warned that some fans may stop attending matches 'unless this is managed very carefully'.
Its chairman, Malcolm Clarke, told Times Radio: 'I'm not convinced that all football clubs will be able to manage checks on vaccine in a way that doesn't cause some chaos.'
But the Prime Minister would face a battle to get legislation mandating their use through the Commons, with many backbench Tories vehemently against them.
Nearly 750,000 people in England were infected with Covid last week as the epidemic grew by 28 per cent. The Office for National Statistics' weekly surveillance report estimated that one in 75 people had the virus in the seven days to July 17
THE MINIMAL RISKS OF COVID VACCINES
The COVID-19 vaccines can cause side effects, but not everyone gets them.
Most are mild and should not last longer than a week.
They can include a sore arm from the injection, feeling tired, a headache, feeling achy, and feeling or being sick.
You may also get a high temperature or feel hot or shivery 1 or 2 days after your vaccination. If symptoms get worse or you're worried, the NHS advises calling 111.
You cannot catch COVID-19 from the vaccine, but you may have caught it just before or after your vaccination.
Most people with allergies (including food or penicillin allergies) can be vaccinated against COVID-19, but you should tell healthcare staff before you're vaccinated if you've ever had a serious allergic reaction (including anaphylaxis). They may ask what you're allergic to, to make sure you can have the vaccine.
Serious allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines are very rare.
If you do have a reaction, it usually happens in minutes. Staff giving the vaccine are trained to deal with allergic reactions and treat them immediately.
If you have a serious allergic reaction to the 1st dose of a vaccine, you should not have the same vaccine for your 2nd dose.
The MHRA is carrying out a detailed review of reports of an extremely rare blood clotting problem affecting a small number of people who had the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
It's not yet clear why it affects some people.
The COVID-19 vaccine can help stop you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID-19. For people aged 40 or over and those with other health conditions, the benefits of being vaccinated with the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any risk of clotting problems.
For people under 40 without other health conditions, it's preferable for you to have the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine instead of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
There have been rare cases of inflammation of the heart reported after COVID-19 vaccination. Most people who had this recovered following rest and simple treatments.
It is not yet clear if it was caused by the vaccines, but get urgent medical advice if you have any of these symptoms within a few days of being vaccinated:
Source: NHS