Anti-vaxxers have been protesting outside Worcester Cathedral today (Saturday, January 15).

The group were in the city centre at lunchtime, holding placards with messages including ‘Have you been lied to?’, ‘Media masking the truth’ and ‘Vaccine passports kill our freedoms’.

Protestors declined to be interviewed by the Worcester News but alleged a number of adverse reactions to Covid vaccines.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the executive agency responsible for ensuring that medicines meet certain standards in the UK.

It authorised the supply of Covid-19 vaccines following a rigorous review of their safety, quality and efficacy, while clinical trials showed them to be effective and acceptably safe.

The MHRA also monitors reports of adverse reactions to the vaccines on an ongoing basis, through its Yellow Card scheme, which encourages members of the public to report side effects and concerns they have about any medicines.

In its most recent report, the MHRA said an estimated 51.8 million first doses of the Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines had been administered in the UK. It also estimates an estimated 47.4 million second doses of the three vaccines have been administered.

As of 5 January, about 430,000 Yellow Cards (reports of adverse reactions) had been received by the MHRA relating to Covid vaccines.

The overall reporting rate is between three and seven Yellow Cards per 1,000 doses administered.

“For all COVID-19 vaccines, the overwhelming majority of reports relate to injection-site reactions (sore arm for example) and generalised symptoms such as ‘flu-like’ illness, headache, chills, fatigue (tiredness), nausea (feeling sick), fever, dizziness, weakness, aching muscles, and rapid heartbeat,” the MHRA said in its report.

“Generally, these happen shortly after the vaccination and are not associated with more serious or lasting illness.

“These types of reactions reflect the normal immune response triggered by the body to the vaccines. They are typically seen with most types of vaccine and tend to resolve within a day or two.”