Anti-vaxxers spread fake news about vaccine deaths during bizarre bridge protest on Hayling Island

The demonstration took place yesterday on the Hayling Island bridge and involved 11 protesters.

Stood in a social-distanced line, the ‘anti-vaxxers’ repeated unfounded claims the coronavirus vaccine had been responsible for ‘1,600 UK vax deaths’ and ‘rising’.

Holding yellow placards, the protester’s cards read: ‘Can we trust the media? Or push agendas? Do they provide fairness? And hide information? Because here’s the thing… The Covid vaccine is seriously harming people and killing them. Heart damage in teens, long-term health risks are completely unknown. UK vax deaths at 1,600 and rising. Please think about it.’

The demonstration was caught on camera by a care home worker from Hayling Island who was exasperated by the demonstration.

The 34-year-old mum of three, who asked not to be named, has worked as a night shift worker at a care home throughout the pandemic.

The double-jabbed care worker said: ‘People are entitled to their own opinion. I understand Covid was a big scare for everybody and people handle that in their own way.

‘I hold no grudge against anyone that doesn’t want to have the vaccine. But I have seen what Covid can do. It was very scary when I found out I tested positive in November. I lost my sense of taste and smell.

‘Working in a care home has been hard during the pandemic. You just have to be 100 per cent on everything you do. It’s not just your life at risk. That’s someone's nan and mum. You have to play family role, as well as a career.’

She added: ‘All they caused was a traffic jam.’

Since the rollout of the vaccine programme began last year, a small number of people have suffered fatal blood clot complications.

Last week the death of BBC presenter, Lisa Shaw, was linked to a complication from her first dose of AstraZeneca.

However, on Friday, researchers from the University of Oxford said the risk of rare blood clotting after receiving first doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer Covid-19 jabs is far lower than from the virus.

Fears over rare cases of clotting conditions have prompted some countries to rule out or limit rollout of the Oxford-developed AstraZeneca jab, with the United Kingdom recommending that healthy people under 40 get alternative vaccines.

The study published in the BMJ medical journal examined data on 29 million people in England first vaccinated between December and April.

It found a very small increased risk of some clotting conditions that could lead to hospitalisation or death shortly after first doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines.

But it concluded that risks of most conditions were ‘substantially higher and more prolonged’ after Covid-19 infection.

Reports have focused on the AstraZeneca jab’s link to cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), or blood clots in the brain.

The study estimated that for 10 million people who received the AstraZeneca jab, there were seven additional cases, compared to 20 in people with Covid infection.

For blood clotting in a vein (venous thromboembolism), scientists estimated there were 66 additional cases among 10 million who received the AstraZeneca jab, but 12,614 among those with the virus.

The study found the AstraZeneca jab was associated with excess cases of thrombocytopenia, or low levels of blood-clotting platelets, with 107 additional cases per 10 million people. But the figure for those infected with the virus was 934.

The News launched the Grab a Jab campaign to encourage people to get vaccinated, particularly in Portsmouth where rates are below neighbouring authorities.

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