Vanessa, 59, joined Phillip Schofield, 58, and Holly Willoughby, 40, on Tuesday’s edition of This Morning as the vaccination row in the EU continues. Several countries have withdrawn their use of the Oxford AstraZeneca jab and it is thought more than 7.8 millions unused vials are sitting on shelves currently. The resident Agony Aunt of the ITV programme vented her fury with EU leaders and questioned why they were suspending the vaccine if there is no scientific evidence to support it.
The disturbance into the EU vaccination programme arose after clots were discovered in a handful of recipients.
Many have tried to dampen the worry, with the European Medicines Agency stating that the number of blood clots reported is no different to those seen in the general population.
Sharing her opinion, the presenter said: “Frankly, it’s absolutely baffling and that is the word that is being used. spoke to a professor of virology this morning on my radio show and he said they are puzzled, baffled and confused.
“There is no link at all that is established between blood clots and the Astrazeneca vaccine. None whatsoever and in fact, if no one had been vaccinated at all, this number below 40 would be completely normal.
“Therefore, what is the explanation? And I’m afraid what politicians are doing, if that’s what they’re doing, is playing fast and loose with the lives of their residents and the people they should care most in the world about,” Vanessa added.
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“One professor in France said today that every time you delay by a day, you delay 100,000 vaccinations by a day for people over the age of 50 and 15 people will lose their lives to Covid,” the presenter continued.
“So add that up throughout Europe and you have a potential tragedy playing out.”
“It really is hideous and frankly the thing I’m worried about is people in this country who may take misinformation from this.”
“And they may, if they’re already nervous, decide to hesitate or not have their vaccination and that would be a tragedy for them and their families.
“Let’s hope that everyone takes all of this with the same pinch of salt that the scientific establishment is taking it with,” the broadcaster concluded.
Andrew Neil, 71, also offered his take on the matter, explaining: “This has the makings of a European tragedy.
“The British medical authorities say the Astrazeneca is fine to use, the European medical authorities say it’s fine to use, the World Health Organisation says it’s fine to use.
“The number of blood clots, the ratio is no higher than those who have had the Astrazeneca than with the rest of the population and it’s actually a little bit lower than those who have had the Pfizer vaccine.
“So the science doesn’t support what they’re saying. What we’re seeing here is politics.
“The problem is, as you say, Europe is on the cusp of a third wave. Italy is already in the throes of a third wave, the situation in Spain is dire.”
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The broadcaster continued: “In France, the President is under huge fire to introduce a third lockdown – we need more vaccines in Europe and these politicians are getting in the way and could be responsible for a lot of deaths.”
Countries that have already stopped rolling out the Oxford AstraZeneca include Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
They have made clear that it is only for precautionary measures and with some sort of restrictions still imposed in these countries, it is thought this will delay any further easing of the rules.
However, not all EU states have suspended the use of the jab as Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Ukraine are continuing with their programme.
European Medicines Agency (EMA) head Emer Cooke has said: “We know that many thousands of people develop blood clots in the EU so what we want is to establish whether these events are caused by the vaccine or by other causes.
“While the investigation is ongoing, currently, we are still firmly convinced that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in preventing Covid-19, with its associated risks of hospitalisation and death, outweigh the risks.”
The use of the Oxford Astrazeneca vaccine continues in the UK, with the Government defending its inclusion in vaccinating the population.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 55, has said: “We’ve been clear that it’s both safe and effective, and when people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence.”
This Morning airs weekdays at 10am on ITV.
