Former PM Tony Blair calls unvaccinated ‘not just irresponsible’ but ‘idiots’
Former prime minister Tony Blair said those that refuse a Covid-19 vaccine are ‘idiots’, as around one third of Londoners remain unvaccinated.
“If you’re not vaccinated and you’re eligible… You’re not just irresponsible, you’re an idiot,” Blair told Times Radio today. “It is in their own interest, never mind the public.”
It is thought the lower vaccination rate in the capital could have accelerated the current Omicron wave in the city, the new strain which now accounts for the majority of cases.
“This Omicron variant is so contagious… If you’re unvaccinated and you’re in circulation, you’re going to get it and that is going to put a lot of strain on the health service,” the former prime minister added.
“We shouldn’t target these people who are unvaccinated in a heavy-handed way, but we should be trying to go after and persuade them.”
It comes as the UK records a new record figure in new daily infections yesterday, for the fourth day in a row, as the number tips into around 90,000 a day.
In a bid to combat the spread, politicians and experts have been ramping up their encouragement for the public to get their booster jab.
A record 906,656 shots including first and second doses were given out last Saturday in England, as vaccine sites were opened at sports stadiums, Christmas markets and shopping centres.