NHS to enlist celebrity help to promote coronavirus vaccine

It has been reported that NHS bosses are planning to enlist celebrities and influencers with big social media followings to persuade people to have the coronavirus vaccine.

Amid fears of low take-up, the Guardian has learned that ministers and NHS England are drawing up a list of ‘very sensible’ famous faces in the hope that their advice to get immunised would be widely trusted. No names are thought to have been confirmed, but there is suspicion that footballer Marcus Rashford, who gained much applaud for his child food poverty campaign, may be approached.

To further quell scepticism of the vaccine, the NHS also plans to use doctors who often appear on television and radio discussing health issues, because of their profile and the trust they are assumed to already have with the public. It is likely that religious leaders will also be asked to help persuade adherents to their faith that vaccination is good for them, their family and the country as a whole.

Experts say that overall take-up would need to be anything from 60 per cent to 75 per cent, depending on how effective the vaccines prove to be.

Meanwhile, an internal NHS briefing paper shows that airline cabin crew, firefighters and the jobless are being targeted as part of a huge team of vaccinators being assembled, trained and paid £11.20 an hour to administer the jabs.

The NHS and Public Health England are also drawing up parallel plans to convince the health service’s workforce in England to get vaccinated amid signs that a significant proportion may shun it.