Simon M Fox

It is difficult to imagine a scenario where caution would be more necessary than vaccinating healthy children against an illness that poses such a low risk of serious illness and death to them.

by Dr. Simon M. Fox With any luck we are now coming towards the end of the worst of the draconian restrictions that have formed the basis of most Western governments' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus itself appears to be doing what most viruses of this type do when introduced to a susceptible population. It appears to be becoming more transmissible but less virulent. At the same time, the collective resistance to infection and disease within the population, known as herd immunity has become ever greater with time. What have we learned about ourselves during this pandemic? It would be easy to write many words about the importance of family, the importance of human contact and the little things in life that we take for granted. But important as those are, I would argue there is something just as important we need to learn. This is not the last emergency we will face, of that we can be sure. Unfortunately this probably isn't even the last coronavirus pandemic that we will face. As Warren Buffet once said: "It's only when the tide goes out that you discover who's been swimming naked." And over the last two years, the tide went well and truly out. We have to pay attention to the ways in which we, as a society...

Dr Simon M Fox, a Consultant in Infectious Diseases in an NHS Hospital, chose not to be vaccinated against Covid despite the threat to his career. Here's why.