Sheffield GP exposed as member of Covid ‘conspiracy theory’ Facebook group

A practising Sheffield GP is believed to be a member of a new Facebook group which contains conspiracy theories about the coronavirus vaccine.
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According to national papers Dr Julie Coffey, a GP from the Dovercourt Surgery on the Manor, is a member of ‘NHS Workers for Choice, No Restrictions for Declining a Vaccine’, a Facebook group which now has more than 600 members.

The Facebook group claims it was set up as a way for health care workers to ‘collectively keep freedom of choice [on the vaccine] an option and not to be hampered with any restrictions of doing so’.

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However, some posts within the private group describe the recently announced Pfizer vaccine as a ‘poison’ that will soon be ‘unleashed on the world’.

Family doctor and healthy living author Dr Julie Coffey at home in Sheffield.Family doctor and healthy living author Dr Julie Coffey at home in Sheffield.
Family doctor and healthy living author Dr Julie Coffey at home in Sheffield.

Dr Coffey’s website describes her as a ‘natural health’ practitioner who specialises in weight loss and menopause.

She says it is ‘hugely satisfying’ to help people reach better health in a natural way, sometimes enabling them to ‘chuck their pills away’.

However, according to The Times, Dr Coffey says she refuses to wear a mask in shops and has claimed coronavirus vaccines are being rushed through without proper safety checks.

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They add she has also posted claims from anti-vaxxer groups on social media and shared a video which suggested Wuhan saw more Covid-19 deaths than other parts of China due to people there being tested for a Sars vaccine.

Health secretary Matt Hancock today described the site as ‘entirely inappropriate'.

Mr Hancock told Times Radio: “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 that vaccines are not licensed for used in the UK unless they pass ‘some of the most stringent safety requirements in the world’.

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Neither Dr Coffey nor anyone else from Dovercourt Surgery was available for comment.

Two vaccines for Covid-19 have so far been shown to be effective in clinical trials, with doses expected to be rolled out to key groups by the end of this year.

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.

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