Councillor Samer Bagaeen could have listed any number of reasons why covid vaccine take up is lower in wards like Brunswick and St Peter’s and North Laine than it is in wards like Patcham and Rottingdean.
A more transient population, higher levels of poverty, a higher proportion of harder to reach communities living in the city centre – all of these are linked to lower vaccination rates in many other urban areas in the country.
Vaccine delivery is overseen by our brilliant NHS and there’s nothing political about the decisions being made.
It is highly irresponsible to politicise such an important public health issue as vaccine take-up in this way.
It is also deeply insulting to the many agencies and individuals who have been working hard to drive up vaccine rates in these areas, with initiatives like the mobile vaccine clinics.
Brighton and Hove City Council, its leadership and staff should be proud of their work to encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated against covid.
I hope everyone can continue to co-operate across political divides to back this city-wide effort, encourage the take up of vaccines and support the NHS in helping to keep us safe.
Caroline Lucas is the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion.
Well said Caroline.
Nice try Caroline…
1. Both yourself and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle are supporters of homeopathic quackery rather than of evidence based medicine. Could such lack of objective scepticism extend to other party members?
2. Tom Druitt admitted that very few Green Party politicians (including local councillors) have any education of STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and instead rely on external activist groups to provide expertise. Examples include anti-motorist pro-cycling schemes introduced with Sustrans, and withdrawing chemical weed control with the Pesticide Action Network. Could this mean that dangerous anti-vaccination propaganda is more likely to be accepted?
3. The rollout of vaccines is indeed driven by the NHS working with science-based decision making. However Councillor Phelim Mac Cafferty regularly seems to want to claim some of the honour for the success of this scheme, whilst taking pot shots at the government based on the benefits of hindsight.
What is Phelim’s (or indeed anyone in the Green Party’s) expertise in the subject of epidemiology and virology?
The former Green Party leader (Icke) was a quack and conspiracy theorist. Many Green Party Members are apparently similar…..
Do you mean David Icke? He may have been a member of the Green Party in the 1980’s / 90’s but he has never been the party leader. Samer Bageen is trying to score political points. He is lowering the tone when we should be acting collectively, across all parts of the city, to deal with Brighton’s higher than average infection rates.
It is highly irresponsible to politicise such an important public health issue as vaccine take-up in this way.
Obviously hasn’t read ANY of her own tweets over the last 18 months.
The woman would try and politicise a loaf of bread given the chance