Right Said Fred are outspoken out-vaxxers who have spent the pandemic tweeting out COVID-19 misinformation. Predictably, the band's Richard Fairbrass was hospitalized this week after contracting COVID-19 — but he's still refusing the vaccine.
Fairbrass, 67, fell ill last Saturday (August 14). He was struggling to breathe and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. He was given oxygen and spent four days in hospital before being sent home to recover.
"I've had a bit of COVID, it wasn't too bad. I was a little breathless, I felt very tired," he told the Daily Mail. "But full credit to the NHS, they were non-judgemental and very open to how you wanted to be treated — and my treatment was just keeping my oxygen levels up for a week."
He didn't acknowledge the irony of refusing a vaccine that is vouched for by the medical community, and then turning to that same medical community when he required treatment.
He said, "This vaccine is only for experimental use, it's on trial until 2023, there is no long-term data on it — anyone who takes it is foolish. Come 2023 and everything is fine, I'll do it then. I'm absolutely not going to have one now."
Scientific evidence has found vaccines to reduce the risk of catching and spreading COVID-19, and reducing the chances of serious illness or death. Regarding the approval of vaccines for emergency use, the World Health Organization says, "The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency, while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality."
Fairbrass, 67, fell ill last Saturday (August 14). He was struggling to breathe and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. He was given oxygen and spent four days in hospital before being sent home to recover.
"I've had a bit of COVID, it wasn't too bad. I was a little breathless, I felt very tired," he told the Daily Mail. "But full credit to the NHS, they were non-judgemental and very open to how you wanted to be treated — and my treatment was just keeping my oxygen levels up for a week."
He didn't acknowledge the irony of refusing a vaccine that is vouched for by the medical community, and then turning to that same medical community when he required treatment.
He said, "This vaccine is only for experimental use, it's on trial until 2023, there is no long-term data on it — anyone who takes it is foolish. Come 2023 and everything is fine, I'll do it then. I'm absolutely not going to have one now."
Scientific evidence has found vaccines to reduce the risk of catching and spreading COVID-19, and reducing the chances of serious illness or death. Regarding the approval of vaccines for emergency use, the World Health Organization says, "The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency, while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality."
