18 per cent of adults in North still not vaccinated
Prof Ian Young is encouraging the public to get a jab for Covid-19 as soon as possible.
About 15 per cent of adults in the North of Ireland are yet to receive their first dose of the vaccination, he said.
“Younger people who chose not to get vaccinated have a risk of developing a serious illness,” said Prof Young.
He said it had the potential to put someone in hospital.
“There are a small number of circulating myths,” he said.
“The idea that vaccines have some effect on fertility [and] the idea that vaccines involve the use of cells from aborted babies are simply not true but continue to circulate.”
Prof Young said those falsehoods had deterred some people from taking up vaccination.
His comments come as the Department of Health began a campaign to combat falsehoods about Covid-19.
It has released a factfile that addresses specific claims that have been spread online.
On Monday, eight Covid-19-related deaths and 1,031 new cases of Coronavirus were reported in Northern Ireland.
Sadly, two of these latest deaths were recorded in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area.
To date, 2,322,659 Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the North of Ireland.
