Member's statement: Vaccine Hesitancy

Member's statement by Mr Danny Donnelly on 13 January 2025.

MLA

Mr Danny Donnelly

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

13 January 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Vaccine Hesitancy

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4737867

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I will talk about the importance of vaccination and the need to tackle misinformation about vaccines. The situation is especially concerning over the winter period, as we have seen a rise in infectious diseases such as COVID-19 and the flu, in addition to the usual pressures that our already overstretched and under-resourced health service faces. We will be discussing those pressures in more detail later through our Alliance Party motion on ambulance services. At the Health Committee last week, we heard about the low rates of vaccine uptake, and the Minister and the Public Health Agency (PHA) have attributed some of that to vaccine hesitancy. I emphasise to everyone that vaccines are safe. Every available vaccine has been rigorously tested across many stages of trials before being introduced and is regularly reassessed after its introduction. Any potential health risks are constantly monitored by scientists. As with any medication, there is a small chance of side effects from getting a vaccine, but most are minor, such as a sore arm following an injection or a mild fever for several days. Serious injuries are extremely rare, while tragic incidents, where lives have been lost owing to the side effects of vaccination, are even rarer. In the vast majority of cases, however, vaccines are safe, and it is important to remember that people are far more likely to be seriously injured or killed by a vaccine-preventable disease than by a vaccine. Although there have been a small number of deaths and serious injuries following the introduction of the COVID vaccines in 2021, those same vaccines have saved millions of lives. Their development within a short time frame, while following all the required trials and taking precautions, remains one of the great scientific achievements of this century. More broadly speaking, vaccinations are the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases. Vaccines have been the primary cause of the worldwide eradication of smallpox and the restriction of diseases such as polio, measles and tetanus in much of the world. Vaccines are available for 26 preventable infections, and the HPV vaccine, which protects against cervical, head and neck, anal and genital cancers, is now available to our children and young people. The overwhelming scientific consensus is that vaccines are a very safe and effective way in which to combat infectious diseases. No vaccine or medicine is perfect, but there is no safer way of staying protected this winter. All Members and the Department of Health should therefore encourage everyone who can avail themselves of vaccinations to take them. In doing so, they will better protect themselves and support the health service. I also encourage everyone in the Chamber to call out vaccine misinformation, which is sadly becoming more prevalent in our politics, and on social media sites in particular. Social media companies must play a greater role in challenging misinformation and false statements, as we are seeing a backward step being taken on many such sites.

490 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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