UK Health Secretary Faces Backlash Over "Don't Fear COVID" Remark

"Extremely Insensitive Remarks"... Bereaved Families' Group Protests

Sajid Javid, UK Secretary of Health and Social Care
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The UK Secretary of Health, who recovered from COVID-19(photo), faced backlash after saying not to "be afraid" of the virus.

The Guardian reported on the 25th (local time) that Secretary Sajid Javid announced his recovery on Twitter the day before and made this statement. Javid said, "If you haven't been vaccinated yet, go get vaccinated," and added, "If we have to live with the virus, let's not cower in fear."

The controversial part was the expression "be afraid." The UK, ranked 7th worldwide in cumulative deaths, has seen nearly 130,000 deaths so far.

COVID-19 bereaved families' groups criticized, calling Javid's remarks "very insensitive" and "a betrayal of the tremendous sacrifices made by our loved ones." Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, raised her voice, saying, "If it weren't for the government's terrible mistakes, the victims would still be with us."

Javid sought to make amends the following day. He said, "I wanted to emphasize that vaccines help in the fight against COVID-19," and apologized for his "poor choice of words." He explained, "Like others, I lost loved ones to this terrible virus," and "there was no intention to minimize the impact."

Appointed as Secretary of Health last month, Javid tested positive on the 17th and recovered after eight days. He is a so-called breakthrough infection case, having contracted COVID-19 after completing the AstraZeneca vaccination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.