Andrew Bridgen: What has suspended MP said about vaccines?

The Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen has been suspended by his enactment aft comparing the broadside effects of Covid vaccines to the Holocaust.

In a tweet - which helium has since deleted - helium claimed that an unnamed cardiologist told him it was "the biggest transgression since the Holocaust".

The North West Leicestershire MP began the pandemic raising concerns astir lockdowns and aboriginal opposing the thought of mandatory vaccination, but helium praised the UK's vaccine roll-out and tweeted encouraging others to get the jab aft his archetypal dose.

However successful caller months, helium has made progressively misleading statements astir vaccine safety.

In December 2022, Mr Bridgen called successful Parliament for a "complete suspension" of Covid vaccines based connected what helium described as, "robust information of important harms and small ongoing benefit".

This went against the overwhelming value of evidence, from a fig of antithetic autarkic teams of researchers, that recovered that Covid vaccines' benefits acold outweigh immoderate known harms.

The latest figures suggest the vaccines are much than 90% effectual astatine preventing deaths, falling to 50% aft six months.

Older radical inactive person astir 60% extortion against infirmary admission, 9 months aft receiving a booster jab.

Serious broadside effects bash beryllium but they are rare.

After much than 45 cardinal radical received astatine slightest 2 doses successful England and Wales, 59 deaths involving the vaccines had been registered arsenic of November 2022 - though much whitethorn beryllium recorded arsenic it takes clip for specified deaths to beryllium investigated.

There were 15 reports of suspected bosom inflammation oregon scarring (myocarditis oregon pericarditis) for each 1 cardinal 2nd doses of the Pfizer vaccine fixed successful the UK up until the extremity of past November according to the UK Health Security Agency, and roughly 11 cases of an antithetic benignant of humor clot linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine per 1 cardinal doses.

A Danish study of 4 cardinal radical recovered nary cases of bosom nonaccomplishment among radical who developed myocarditis oregon pericarditis aft vaccination.

These risks alteration by property and this has been taken into relationship by wellness bodies who person made decisions astir the vaccines.

When it became wide the hazard from humor clots was excessively adjacent to the hazard from Covid successful younger property groups, the recommendations for younger radical changed.

Also successful December 2022, Mr Bridgen told MPs: "There person been much reported deaths and adverse reactions pursuing mRNA vaccination [Pfizer and Moderna] successful 18 months than determination has been to each accepted vaccine administered worldwide for the past 50 years".

At the time, we asked Mr Bridgen for the grounds for this.

He referred america to accusation drawn from the UK Yellow Card strategy - acceptable up by the medicines and vaccines regulator (MHRA) for radical successful the UK to study their concerns oregon symptoms aft having the jab. But that information can't beryllium utilized to backmost up his claim.

The strategy works by allowing anyone to marque a study relating to thing that happens to them aft having a vaccine - the figures connected their ain cannot beryllium utilized to archer if the vaccine was liable for this.

The strategy can't beryllium utilized to accurately measurement however vaccine broadside effects person changed implicit time.

At antithetic points, determination mightiness person been over-reporting - wherever symptoms radical grounds aren't really caused by the vaccine - and under-reporting, wherever radical don't grounds genuine broadside effects.

The MHRA said the information that much radical were reporting to the strategy was expected,"given the standard of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, and publicity successful the discourse of the pandemic," alternatively than indicating a existent emergence successful broadside effects.

It is besides UK information and Mr Bridgen did not supply grounds to comparison this with each accepted vaccines worldwide for the past 50 years.

A amended mode of knowing the level of vaccine broadside effects is to look astatine objective trials.

These person helped america larn astir genuine but uncommon broadside effects similar humor clots and myocarditis. They person concluded that these are importantly outweighed by the deaths and unwellness that the Covid vaccines person prevented.

In December, Mr Bridgen claimed successful Parliament that the caput of a cardiology probe section with a "leadership relation with the British Heart Foundation...sent retired non-disclosure agreements to his probe squad to guarantee that this important information [on vaccine harms] ne'er sees the airy of day".

When asked by The Times paper to supply evidence, Mr Bridgen failed to bash so.

The British Heart Foundation said successful a statement: "Scientific grounds shows that Covid-19 itself is overmuch much apt to origin myocarditis than the vaccine is, and radical who are vaccinated person a overmuch little hazard of getting different superior complications caused by Covid-19.

"We employment a tiny enactment squad of elder scientists and cardiologists to oversee and administer our probe backing programmes, who besides proceed to undertake immoderate of their ain research. We tin categorically accidental that cipher wrong this enactment squad has acted successful the mode claimed by Mr Bridgen."

Since then, Mr Bridgen has besides referred to Covid vaccines arsenic "experimental cistron therapy" - a word utilized by those who dispersed anti-vaccine conspiracies online. The vaccines bash not impact DNA and truthful the NHS does not specify it arsenic cistron therapy.

The BBC has approached Mr Bridgen for comment.