Even our letterboxes bring anti-vaxx and Covid conspiracy theories now | Emma Kay

Ludicrous leaflets are being pushed through our letterboxes nationwide warning of the ‘dangers’ of taking the vaccine.

It is impossible to figure out how many of these leaflets are being posted around the country and near-impossible to figure out how much damage they have already done.

Covid conspirators and anti-vaxxers have one thing at the forefront of their mind: to spread their misinformation through every crack in society to squash scientific fact through their own fiction and fancy.

Three organisations seem to be the dominating chain circulating these conspiracy theories and no, I will not entertain the idea of naming them which would give them a voice, a credit I do not want publicised in this article. These misleading and sensationalised ‘claims’ have many strange theories such as ‘protein spikes’; and ‘harmful enzymes’; designed to play on your emotions by pleading with you to ‘think of your children’; in a conniving and conning way. These people are not thinking about you, they are thinking of ways to justify their own wrongness as directly as they can. Through your front door.

To make readers aware of how they operate, these conspiracy-obsessed people come at you from three fronts. Firstly, saying coronavirus is less harmful than science indicates and that the government is pushing an agenda of over-action to keep you compliant and worry less.

This is the simplest argument as it feeds into an already stress heightened public. Secondly, to deny Covid even exists at all and that it is something of a government conspiracy in itself.

Thirdly, and arguably most worrying, is to push an agenda that taking the vaccine actually does more harm than good.

Alone, these theories do not carry much weight but when coupled together in the form of an argument, can be terrifyingly effective as it works to slowly convince the reader of their ideas. Make no mistake, the way this information is spread is tactical and purposeful. It is moving from the protest shouting in the streets to being dropped directly through our doors like a sinister proclamation.

The vast majority of the population have welcomed the vaccine and can see it for what it is, a strongly evidence-based way to combat Covid and protect everyone.

To those who truly believe this is a ‘plandemic’, and that the whole thing has been orchestrated, doesn’t this view get less and less convincing as time goes by?

These leaflets do nothing but take advantage of the vulnerable through snippets of speculation that are forced onto people in their homes, a place where they should be left in peace. Shame on you.

The joy of a good beach book

Are holiday books one of the most important purchases you will make this summer? With our summer still mainly under lock and key, they just might be.

You don’t have to be ‘beached’ either here in our somewhat chilly summer so far or in a far-off sun-kissed land to read a beach book.

Dipping your weary and worried head into a bibliographic bucket of escapism and fantasy can do wonders for your mental health.

Beach books have a long reputation as being light reads, presenting nothing that is too taxing for the soul. But in all honesty, what is wrong with that?

Don’t we all need a little lightness in our Covid stressful lives? Isn’t it nice to finish a book in a couple of afternoons sometimes while relaxing on a sun lounger?

It is definitely okay to self-identify as a ‘mood reader’ that reads what they want when they want.

Puffins

The plucky little puffin is known for many things, its bright eager little beak or its plucky little waddle.

It’s pretty hard to dislike the adorable puffin.

However, with our erosion of UK wildlife it is dipping into the UK red list and faces a very real risk of extinction. One of the main reasons for this puffin plight is overfishing in British waters which include the sand eel, the predominant food source of the puffin.

Also, the warmer seas due to climate change has pushed the eels further from the coast and further from puffin fishing ability.

Food for our loveable puffin is becoming scarce and puffin visibility will soon dwindle.

Sand eels are not fished for human consumption but for fertiliser or fish oil for agricultural feed.

Which is all well and good but nothing is being left to sustain something that is surely more important than our ever persistent ‘productivity.’