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"Deeply insensitive": British health minister angry with comment on Corona

2021-07-25T12:17:42.197Z


Sajid Javid actually wanted to call for vaccinations with a tweet - but his statement offended those affected by the corona pandemic. Even the minister's apology does not convince many.


Enlarge image

The new UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid

Photo: Tayfun Salci / imago images / ZUMA Wire

Only a few weeks ago the conservative politician Sajid Javid took over the office of minister of health, now he has drawn criticism with a comment.

"Please get vaccinated, if you haven't already, while we are learning to live with the virus instead of ducking away from it," Javid tweeted on Saturday afternoon.

In particular, the word "duck" - in English: "cower" - came across many people.

"Ducked away"?

The organization "Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice", which represents relatives of those who died of Covid-19, described the comment as "deeply insensitive," as the BBC reported on Sunday.

"Words are important, and the carelessness and carelessness of that statement has caused deep suffering," said the organization's co-founder, Jo Goodman.

The statement assumes that victims of the corona pandemic were simply too cowardly to fight the corona virus.

"She also offends those who do their best to protect others from this terrible virus."

Even on Twitter itself, Javid received numerous angry replies from relatives and victims who resisted the allegation of having "ducked away".

Health Minister apologizes

The Minister of Health finally responded to the criticism on Sunday: he apologized in a new tweet, the original tweet has since been deleted.

He only wanted to express gratitude for the vaccinations, but chose the wrong words for it, Javid now writes.

"Like many others, I have lost loved ones to this terrible virus and would never belittle its effects," he finished his tweet.

At least on Twitter, however, this statement is not enough for some users.

“You are not sorry.

You're just ducking back from the backlash, ”said the most liked reply to Javid's apology post.

Sajid himself recently infected

Sajid is considered an opponent of strict corona measures.

Most of the restrictions in England have been lifted for a few days, although the seven-day incidence in the UK was recently above 400.

The minister had tested positive for corona a week ago despite having been fully vaccinated, but had only shown mild symptoms.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also had to go into quarantine after a meeting with Javid.

fla / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-07-25

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