A NHS nurse has been suspended for spreading Covid conspiracy theories including that face masks help spread the virus and likening vaccines to ‘genocide’.
Colleagues reported Tracey McCallum to NHS24 bosses at Crosshouse Hospital in Ayrshire, Scotland, after she branded the outbreak a ‘scamdemic’.
The 45-year-old from Darvel was also reported to the Nursing and Midwifery Council after telling people vitamins and minerals could beat off the disease.
It comes as membership for an ‘anti-vaxxer’ NHS group that compared the Pfizer jab to ‘poison’ doubled overnight.
Matt Hancock last night revealed Britain secured five million doses of Moderna’s vaccine after UK officials scrambled to strike a last-minute deal with the US firm.
Meanwhile a far-right group have called for a ‘violent insurrection’ against firms working on a Covid jab in Germany.
Colleagues reported Tracey McCallum to bosses at Crosshouse Hospital in Ayrshire, Scotland, after she branded the outbreak a ‘scamdemic’
A post on her Facebook, attributed to Polish author Monika Wisniewska, said: ‘The vaccine should be tested on politicians first’
Ms McCallum, who has worked for the NHS for 20 years, was suspended earlier this month after being off sick for weeks with work-related stress.
But she said she has spent hours doing her own research and has shared it in nursing groups.
A post on her Facebook, attributed to Polish author Monika Wisniewska, said: ‘The vaccine should be tested on politicians first.’
Ms McCallum, who has worked for the NHS for 20 years, was suspended earlier this month after being off sick for weeks with stress
The bizarre message added: ‘If they survive, the vaccine is safe. If they don’t, then the country is safe.’
One of her comments also said: ‘NO PRIMARY CARE AT ALL.
‘That will increase hospital admissions and deaths and keep this scamdemic going forever.
‘Management everywhere are bullies and control us. Its all a game to see who can be the most sadistic.’
Another post claimed: ‘I believe the NHS is as corrupt as the Government.’
While one more added: ‘More people are waking up from the lie since birth. Tyranny! Genocide! Treason!
‘The world is going to be a better brighter place when we all move from the dark side.’
Ms McCallum has since stood by her comments and claimed she was targeted by top brass for asking ‘too many questions’.
The nurse also backs Donald Trump’s claim hydroxychloroquine was the way to beat the virus, despite experts’ fears it could have dangerous side effects.
She claimed: ‘There are 170-odd peer reviews that have said they have had really good outcomes with hydroxychloroquine, zinc and vitamins C and D, because our immune systems are amazing things.
‘The drug is for malaria, but if it works, it works. I’d rather try that – something that’s been around for years and is a good medication for a lot of things – than try a vaccine. I’m not being a guinea pig for that.’
On her genocide comment – which saw her removed from a 34,000-strong group chat called Nurses Roar – Ms McCallum doubled down.
She claimed nurses were tricked into medicating people during the war and Holocaust and alleges there were ‘a lot of bad side effects’.
A spokesman for NHS24 told MailOnline: ‘All matters relating to NHS 24 staff are treated in strictest confidence and in line with our internal processes. We are unable to comment further.’
NHS workers appearing to be flocking to ‘anti-vaxxer’ groups on social media, with one doubling in size overnight.
NHS Workers for Choice, No Restrictions for Declining a Vaccine went from 250 members yesterday to more than 500.
Accounts in the group have compared the Pfizer jab to ‘poison’, opposed the wearing of masks and railed against testing in hospitals.
The group is reported to include Sheffield-based GP Julie Coffey – who has said she will not wear masks in shops – A&E nurses, healthcare assistants and lab workers.
The group is reported to include Sheffield-based GP Julie Coffey (pictured), A&E nurses, healthcare assistants and lab workers
Pfizer and BioNTech have produced one of the world’s leading candidates for a coronavirus vaccine and have become the first to report early results from their final study
But it has been slapped with a warning label telling people to visit the NHS website for advice on vaccinations.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday branded the group’s message ‘entirely inappropriate’.
The private Facebook page claims it was not started as an anti-vaxxer movement but was to help healthcare workers.
But a probe found members say the Pfizer vaccine, which has had positive initial results from its clinical trial, was ‘poison’ and a frozen virus waiting to be ‘unleashed’.
The group was started as ‘NHS workers for choice, not restrictions for not wanting a vaccine’ on October 4.
But it changed its name to ‘NHS workers for choice, no restrictions for declining a vaccine’ on the same day.
The admins are listed as William Steed, Linda Rose, Heather Atkinson and Aurora Cavarra.
NHS Workers for Choice, No Restrictions for Declining a Vaccine is also against testing in hospitals and has surged in membership in the past month
The group (pictured) includes a doctor, A&E nurses, healthcare assistants and laboratory workers
The Facebook page has a warning label telling people to visit the NHS website for advice (pictured)
The group was started as ‘NHS workers for choice, not restrictions for not wanting a vaccine’ on October 4
The page is described as: ‘A dedicated group for medical professionals etc to collectively keep freedom of choice an option and not to be hampered with any restrictions of doing so.’
A GP surgery worker who is part of the group said she would prefer to leave her job than help with administering a vaccine.
On the subject of healthcare workers being first to get any jab, the Times found one member wrote: ‘NHS staff gone — all sick and old will be gone.’
They added: ‘NHS gone. Population under reconstruction. Welcome to the new world order.’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock branded the group’s message ‘entirely inappropriate’ yesterday morning.
He told Times Radio: ‘Being opposed to vaccinations where they have been through the rigorous safety processes is entirely inappropriate.
‘And I wouldn’t advise it for anybody, because we don’t propose, and allow vaccines in this country, unless they pass some of the most stringent safety requirements in the world.
‘Getting a vaccine – whether it’s for flu or hopefully for coronavirus – is something that not only protects you but protects the people around you. So it’s a really important step.’
He added on BBC Breakfast that Britain was working closely with Pfizer to roll out the vaccine from the start of December.
Mr Hancock said that the United Kingdom would be ready to deploy the jab ‘as soon as it comes’.
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘We’ll be ready from the first of December… but more likely is that we may be able to start rolling it out before Christmas.’
Asked how many vaccines Britain would need, he said it depended on how effective they were at preventing transmission.
Jeremy Corbyn’s brother, Sheffield-based GP and suspended nurse whose own son has distanced himself from her: Anti-vaxxers sowing doubt about a covid jab
Sheffield-based doctor Julie Coffey has claimed vaccines for the virus are prioritising speed over safety.
The GP, who works for Dovercourt Medical Practice, wrote on her website: ‘Although I’m a conventionally trained doctor and work as a GP, I love the natural health work I’m involved in now.
‘It’s hugely satisfying to help people reach better health naturally which sometimes enables them to chuck their pills away.’
She has also re-posted claims from anti-vaxxer groups on social media and says she avoids using a face covering in shops despite government guidelines.
Ms Coffey shared a video which argued Wuhan saw more Covid-19 deaths than other parts of China due to people there being tested for a Sars vaccine.
Jeremy Corbyn’s brother, a Sheffield-based GP and a suspended nurse are among those sowing seeds of doubt over vaccines.
Piers, who is the former Labour leader’s older brother, has been detained five times during the coronavirus pandemic which he brands a ‘plandemic’.
Piers Corbyn, who is the former Labour leader Jeremy’s older brother, has been detained five times during the coronavirus pandemic which he brands a ‘plandemic’
The 73-year-old claims Covid-19 is a ‘hoax’ and is the founder of a group called No New Normal.
He is close to footballer turned conspiracy theorist David Icke, who believes global events are decided by reptiles.
They have appeared at anti-lockdown marches and spoke on stage at one in Trafalgar Square in central London.
Piers told the Times: ‘This vaccine is experimental and the vaccine producers have no liability on sickness or death.
‘The whole thing is one of the main motives of the new world order [a conspiracy theory hypothesizing a secret totalitarian global government].
Mother-of-four Kate Shemirani, a former nurse of 35 years, is adamant coronavirus is a hoax and claimed its symptoms are linked to the roll-out of 5G.
Mother-of-four Kate Shemirani, a former nurse of 35 years, is adamant coronavirus is a hoax and claimed its symptoms are linked to the roll-out of 5G
She has argued the vaccine is a political tool to gain access to and change people’s DNA, has likened lockdown to the Holocaust and insisted dancing NHS nurses will ‘stand trial for genocide’.
She is a headliner at anti-lockdown rallies, having joined conspiracy theorists David Icke and Piers Corbyn at a protest in August.
She directed yobs to confront riot police whom she branded ‘dirty dogs’ and mocked for wearing face masks at a rally in September.
Her son Sebastian, 21, said he is concerned about the impact his mother’s claims could have on public health and branded her ‘dangerous’ and an ‘attention-seeker’.
Locum consultant surgeon Muhammad Iqbal Adil, was given a 12-month suspension by the GMC in July for posting videos about coronavirus online.
The 61-year-old dismissed Covid as a ‘hoax’ and, in a YouTube video which has since been removed, said a vaccine could be combined with electrical components to monitor the global population.
Locum consultant surgeon Muhammad Iqbal Adil, was given a 12-month suspension by the GMC in July for posting videos about coronavirus online
David Icke is the notorious conspiracy theorist who often makes headlines for his controversial comments.
Born in 1952, the 68-year-old former professional footballer has written more than 20 books and once tried his hand at punditry and sports reporting.
In 1991, he appeared on Sir Terry Wogan’s TV chat show where he declared himself as the son of God in a now-infamous clip which he describes as a ‘defining moment’.
It was from here that he began writing his books and making bold predictions including that the world would end in 1997.
Other bizarre claims he have made include that the royal family are lizards.
David Icke is the notorious conspiracy theorist who often makes headlines for his controversial comments
Icke also believes that an inter-dimensional race of reptilian beings called the Archons has hijacked the earth and is stopping humanity from realising its true potential.
The 68-year-old has said the universe is made up of ‘vibrational’ energy, and consists of an infinite number of dimensions that share the same space, just like television and radio frequencies, and that some people can tune their consciousness to other wavelengths.
Most recently, he has suggested the coronavirus is linked to the 5G mobile network, a claim which has never been backed up by science.
Pfizer and BioNTech last week revealed initial results from a massive clinical trial suggested nine out of 10 people who get their jab are protected by it.
The UK could get 10million doses by Christmas – enough for five million Britons – with experts raising expectations life could be ‘back to normal’ by the spring.
Mr Hancock revealed last night Britain secured five million doses of Moderna’s vaccine after UK officials scrambled to strike a last-minute deal with the US firm.
But the jab – which was revealed to be 94.5 per cent effective at preventing people from getting infected with Covid-19 – needs to be taken in two shots.
It means that the five million doses bought will only vaccinate two-and-a-half million Britons.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Hancock said the vaccine will not be available in the UK until next spring because the Massachusetts-based firm needs to drastically ramp up its supply chain.
But Americans will likely get their hands on 20 million doses before the new year.
The Government did not place orders for Moderna’s jab at the same time as they did Pfizer’s, despite it being cheaper and easier to store.
It meant Britain was flat-footed when the company announced its initial findings yesterday morning.
Mr Hancock dodged questions over why the UK had not bought Moderna’s vaccine ahead of time, insisting it was ‘really good news’ No10 had managed to secure any.
Moderna has become the second high-profile company to confirm interim results of a clinical trial of its coronavirus vaccine, claiming the jab is nearly 95 per cent effective
Moderna’s vaccine works in the same way as the one developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, by using genetic material called RNA from the coronavirus to trick the body into making the ‘spike’ proteins that the virus uses to latch onto cells inside the body
Despite a number of advancements in vaccine research, the ‘anti-vax’ movement appears to be gathering momentum.
A far-right group have called for a ‘violent insurrection’ against firms working on a Covid jab in Germany.
Forke und Schaufel or Fork and Shovel was founded earlier this year to steak out against lockdowns and other coronavirus restrictions.
It is expected to hold a demonstration outside the headquarters of BioNTech in Mainz on November 28.
The ‘corona rebel’ group rails against vaccines and has reportedly got ties to the far-right in Germany, according to Vice.
One protest by the movement on September 26 saw Baden-Württemberg state parliament member Stefan Räpple speak against the government.
He said: ‘We must overthrow the government, and do it by force. It doesn’t work non-violently.’
he was booted out of the AfD and is being probed by a public prosecutor.
FaS’s website says: ‘Today we know that it is a United Nations plan to establish a New World Order.
‘With all their might and force the mighty of this world are executing this plan that has been developed over decades.
‘Let us make it clear to these traitors that we are [ready] to defend ourselves with all means.’