London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

This Scientist Just Gave The Best Explanation Of Covid Vaccine Safety

This Scientist Just Gave The Best Explanation Of Covid Vaccine Safety

An immunologist has been praised for setting out a “brilliant” explanation of why we should trust Covid-19 vaccines, such as the Pfizer vaccine announced as more than 90% effective on Monday.

The anti-vaxxer movement has, perhaps unsurprisingly, opposed Covid vaccines from the start, spreading baseless conspiracy theories both online and on the street at lockdown protests.

But even outside of these circles, the speed with which the vaccine has been developed – far faster than our usual understanding of how long it takes to reach such a development – has left many with questions about its safety.

Appearing on BBC Question Time, Professor Robin Shattock, an immunologist based at Imperial College London, sought to explain why we should be confident about vaccines.

He said: “I think we need to remember that vaccines, next to clean water, have been the single most effective public health implementation globally.

“They’ve saved more lives than any other medicines. People are concerned about this vaccine because they perceive that it’s been done too quickly, and actually we’ve done a disservice by saying ‘it takes ten years to make a vaccine’.


“Technology is changing very very quickly, and what has happened is the same number of participants have been exposed to this particular vaccine, 43,000 participants.”

Among the fears shared by those sceptical of a Covid-19 vaccine is the possibility of side effects that may not have had time to materialise as the trials have progressed.

But Shattock explained: “When you’re looking at side effects, most side effects occur very quickly. Within a week or so of have having a vaccine we would see any severe side effect at this stage.

“No regulatory authority, whether it’s the UK Medicines Regulatory Authority, or the European Regulatory Authority or the FDA will let anything go through that doesn’t have a totally squeaky clean safety record.

“One thing that I think people completely forget is that a vaccine stimulates your immune system, it tricks it to see if it’s seen the virus, so you’re getting an aspect of the infection that’s so much minor than the real virus.

“So when you think about the risk-benefit, the risk of having a severe outcome from Covid-19 far outweighs any theoretical risk of a vaccine, and the problem is that vaccines are so successful that diseases go away and all you see are the side effects.”

Amid months of pandemic disinformation, Shattock earned praise after a clip of his argument was posted on Twitter, with social media users complementing his “brilliant”, “clear” explanation.


Comments

Oh ya 5 year ago
Gee a immunologist saying vaccines are good. Who could have guessed that after reading the 1st sentence of this article. But who am I to say, line up folks and get your shot because there are way too many useless eaters on the planet anyway

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
×