Boris Johnson has accused anti-vaccination activists of spreading "mumbo jumbo", saying it's time to call them out for being "completely wrong".
The UK is resisting moves in other European countries to make COVID-19 vaccines compulsory, but also wants to avoid the widespread lockdowns of the past even as it battles its biggest wave of COVID-19 yet.
Vaccination is key, reducing the risk of severe illness and death, and in the case of the highly contagious Omicron variant, booster shots are recommended to prevent infection in the first place.
But like here in New Zealand, a vocal minority of anti-vaxxers have been spreading false claims, hampering the vaccine rollout, which has basically plateaued at about 70 percent (two doses). Booster uptake was quick before Christmas, but has since slowed right down, leaving just half of Brits with effective protection against Omicron.
"They are totally wrong, and I think it's time that I, the government, call them out on what they're doing," the Prime Minister told reporters while visiting a vaccination centre in Northampton.
"It's absolutely wrong, it's totally counterproductive, and the stuff they're putting out on social media is complete mumbo jumbo."
The UK is recording about 200,000 cases a day at present, but thanks to vaccination - and perhaps Omicron being less virulent than previous variants - deaths haven't yet reached the catastrophic daily levels they did last winter.
Data shows unvaccinated people are about 10 times more likely to fall seriously sick and die from COVID-19 as the vaccinated.
In New Zealand, the unvaccinated have made up 38 percent of all cases in the Delta outbreak, despite making up just 23 percent of the population and 6 percent of those eligible. Despite being a minority, the unvaccinated make up 73 percent of all hospitalised cases (93 percent if you include the only partially vaccinated).
Johnson said he was tired of hearing stories of anti-vaxxers realising they're wrong only when it's too late.
"The saddest words in the English language are 'too late'. When you're in ICU and you haven't been vaccinated, sadly it's too late to get vaccinated, so get boosted now."
Johnson's own immunity must be pretty strong by now - he's had three shots, and had the virus back in March 2020.
