Doctor slams conspiracies spreading like ‘wildfire’ during pandemic’s ‘worst month’
A frontline doctor has warned of harmful conspiracy theories spreading in Birmingham during the worst phase of the pandemic he has witnessed.
Dr Sharjeel Zafar Kiani said hospitals were still stretched in the city, which has the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country despite falling infection rates due to the impact of the national lockdown.
The acute medicine physician said patients were younger than during the first wave and the hardest part was transferring people to intensive care knowing he might never see them again.
He urged members of the Muslim community in particular to ignore misinformation and conspiracy theories about the Covid vaccinations which have spread like ‘wildfire’ on social media.
Dr Kiani, a member of the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA), has worked in the West Midlands since 2016 and is currently at a major NHS hospital serving the city.
Falsehoods in circulation include a myth that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine contains non-halal animal products.
Dr Kiani said: ‘It’s been hugely frustrating seeing how much air time conspiracy theorists are getting on social media. The conspiracy theories seem to have spread like wildfire.
‘They are playing on people’s anxieties and fears and people’s mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry and medical science.
‘The conspiracy theories, along with misinformation, cause harm because there are very vulnerable members of the community who need this vaccine. In terms of the Muslim community,
‘I would ask people to listen to the experts in the field.’
Dr Kiani spoke after another Birmingham doctor, Wasim Mir, urged the Muslim community to take up the vaccine.
Dr Kiani said: ‘We all heard about the second wave coming and at first I thought it might come around quicker because of social mixing after the restrictions were eased in the summer.
‘But January has been hands-down the worst month I’ve ever seen.
‘I graduated in 2012 and I’ve never seen as many sick patients as I have seen in January. To put it into perspective, in acute medicine we usually speak to intensive care about one patient a day or one patient every two days.
‘At the moment we are constantly on the phone to intensive care telling them we have more patients to send over. What’s been more surprising is how many 30, 40 and 50-year-olds we are seeing needing intensive care.
‘Many of these patients were leading normal lives with no underlying health conditions. We’ve never been as stretched as we have been this month.’
The number of cases in Birmingham in the most recent seven-day period stands at 5,104, a rate of 447 per 100,000 population, according to official figures. This is a reduction from 6,630 cases in the week before.
However the signs that the lockdown is bringing down case numbers has not yet fed through to hospital wards, Dr Kiani said.
NHS staff have witnessed the human toll in Birmingham which has left a cemetery in Handsworth full and the authorities having to redirect to another graveyard on the outskirts of the city.
Dr Kiani said: ‘The hospitals have been stretched.
‘It’s recognised that the ideal level of care cannot be provided when resources are stretched this far. Unfortunately, care will become compromised when you’re dealing with this level of sick people.
‘We are seeing young people die.
‘The hardest part is when you send a patient to intensive care and you know that you may not see them again in the sense that they may not survive.
‘It’s very difficult to speak to family members and try to reassure them and try to give them some hope.’
Dr Kiani, who has worked in the West Midlands since 2016, believes that the presence of deprived communities and large, multi-generational households are reasons why the city has been hit so hard by Covid.
‘Birmingham has a lot of deprived areas and the communities in those areas don’t find it as easy to self-isolate,’ he said.
‘For example, if you’re working as a taxi driver or in a takeaway not working might not be an option.
‘What I’ve noticed is that when I speak to most patients and ask them who is at home, you find out that everyone at home is sick also.’
Concerns have been raised over a reluctance among ethnic minority communities at taking the vaccines amid a spread in misinformation and conspiracy theories.
BIMA has cited evidence showing that Covid is having a disproportionate impact on the Muslim community.
It has also found that Muslims in the UK tend to be ‘vaccine hesitant’.
The not-for-profit organisation is providing reassurance that the vaccines are safe – having been independently regulated and reviewed by the Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency – and have been developed in consultation with Islamic medical experts.
Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham is also urging the community to make informed decisions and only listen to medical experts on the subject
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