Nigel Farage calls for a public inquiry into Covid vaccine harm and demands: ‘I want to know why we were lied to’

Nigel Farage today called for a full public inquiry into the damage caused by Covid vaccines.

The former UKIP leader argued that we ‘need to know a lot’ about the jabs and called for a ‘major investigation’ into any damage they have caused.

Vaccines played a crucial role in building the wall of immunity that allowed Britain to turn the pandemic and leave lockdowns and restrictions behind.

But like all medications, they can have side effects. Rare cases of blood clots and heart inflammation have been recorded.

For this reason, the government has a compensation scheme that is handing out six-figure sums to those harmed by jabs, including those offered during the Covid crisis.

However, lawyers representing dozens of Britons injured or affected by the jabs have previously warned that the plan is ‘no longer fit for purpose’.

Severe reactions to the jabs gained new attention this week after a man claimed his health ‘crumbled’ after his booster dose confronted Rishi Sunak and demanded he “do the right thing” and speed up payments for those injured by the jab.

Richard Tice, leader of Reform UK, told GB News that his party would commit to a public inquiry into vaccine injuries if voted into power.

Asked about the pledge, Mr Farage said Mr Tice was “absolutely right”.

He told the programme: ‘There’s a lot we need to know. We have been told that we have to take the so-called vaccine or you will not get Covid. Take the vaccine and you won’t pass on Covid. Both things were completely, completely untrue.

“We were told the vaccine was safe in all respects.

“Frankly, it had never undergone anything as normal testing as any vaccine.

‘Now we hear that there are elderly people who are ready for their seventh injection.

‘That’s not the kind of vaccines you and I grew up with, where you have one vaccine and then you’re vaccinated for life.

‘I really think there needs to be a large-scale investigation, not just into the damage caused by the vaccine – and all vaccines cause side effects, we know that, but there seems to be an alarming number of people, young men in particular , who have developed myocarditis and other heart conditions.

“I’m not going to conspire with this, but let’s make it public.

‘I also want to know why we were lied to.

“I want to know why they tried to vaccinate primary school-age children when Covid posed no threat to them.”

He added: ‘This needs a real full public inquiry.’

Some 157 million Covid vaccines have been delivered in England since the rollout began in December 2020.

Brits were invited for an initial two doses, followed by boosters to replenish immunity. Extra jabs have been offered to those most at risk from the virus, in the same way as flu vaccines, which are offered annually to protect against serious illness.

The jabs trigger the immune system to produce antibodies that protect against Covid, meaning it can more easily fight the virus if it comes into contact with it in the future.

They are credited with preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths. In the first four months of the rollout alone, analysis shows that 10,400 fatalities were prevented in England.

Research shows that they also provide protection against infection with the virus in the first weeks after they have been distributed.

The UK Health Security Agency and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency are closely monitoring the safety of the jabs, using research and real-world data.

All vaccines used in Britain, including those that helped beat Covid, have been rigorously tested before being released to the market.

The jabs were the fastest ever made, with scientists developing the vaccine less than a year after Covid was discovered. It was also the first time mRNA shots were approved for human use – although the technology had been around for decades.

Trials saw tens of thousands of people vaccinated with jabs from AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna to check their effectiveness and safety.

Only when the jabs were rolled out en masse did very rare side effects occur, such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), Guillain-Barré syndrome (numbness in the hands, feet and limbs) and blood clots.

The government’s Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, launched in 1979, is designed to reassure people that – in the extremely unlikely event that something goes wrong after a jab – the state will provide them with financial support.

It includes a range of vaccines recommended by the government, including measles, mumps and rubella, as well as the Covid vaccines.

Under current rules, victims are entitled to a one-off all-or-nothing payment of £120,000 from the government.

Strict eligibility criteria mean those affected must either have been killed or be 60 percent disabled as a result of a vaccine.

The extent of a person’s disability is based on a physician’s assessment and can include either a physical disability, such as the loss of a limb, or a mental disability, such as a decline in cognitive function.

The UK Covid inquiry, which is split into six modules, will investigate vaccines and medicines used during the pandemic.

It will look at how the jabs were distributed, their safety and whether the vaccine compensation system needs to be reformed.

The inquiry will also look at the role of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which advised ministers on who should be eligible for vaccination.

However, inquiry chair Baroness Hallett revealed last month that it would be postponed from this summer until after the next general election as longer was needed to prepare for the module on the impact of Covid on the NHS.