2021-04-25 15:21:27
The Journal attempts to fact-check
the news that Prof Luke O'Neill has declined vaccination against Covid19.
Remember, we've previously learned that The Journal write real fact-checks and fake fact-checks but because both types are posted in the same fact-check section of their website with the same 'fact-check' branding and graphics, it can be difficult to figure out which are which. This fat-check would appear to be one of the fake ones though.
The Journal cannot debunk the fact that Luke O'Neill was offered vaccination against Covid19 but declined (which was how this news was presented) so they've attempted to debunk a suggestion made by some random person commenting on the news somewhere (they won't say who or where) that it was because Luke didn't want to take it.
The Journal then quotes Luke O'Neill from the original clip with Brendan O'Connor claiming that he declined the Pfizer vaccine because he isn't a front line health worker. All of the people working in his lab at Trinity were offered vaccination but everyone refused except three people who visit hospitals to collect samples as they had to take it.
If this was a real fact-check, The Journal would have asked O'Neill who it was that offered him the vaccine. We learned last week that the family members of the 4,000 staff who work at Pfizer in Ireland were also offered the vaccine by Pfizer and it will be their choice whether they decline the offer too.
Pfizer says this will not impact the national supplies as the doses will be independent from the supply ordered by the government. They've plenty and there's nothing illegal or immoral about accepting the offer. So it could be it was Pfizer themselves who offered Luke and his lab the vaccine too.
But if it was the HSE who offered the vaccine to O'Neill and his lab as part of the national roll-out, this just means they considered him and his lab front-line health workers. Luke O'Neill spends may hours travelling from one tv or radio studio to the next promoting vaccines so he'd be a prime candidate for catching and spreading any virus going around. You'd imagine he'd love the protection of the vaccine that he has been promoting for the last year.
He's previously stated that he'd be "first in line" as soon as any vaccine came out.
Have you seen any warnings from the government that they may mistakenly offer vaccines to be people who aren't eligible for them in the current roll-out stage and if someone receives such an offer that they should decline it?
I haven't.
You'd think it would be a scandal if this was happening but there's nothing in the media about it...
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