The bulk of vaccine misinformation comes from approximately 12 people, he said, citing a report by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate.

“In the UK, we’ve found recently that misinformation spreaders are just bots,” Prof McManus explained. “In the US, it’s often ‘think tanks’, like the Children’s Health Defence.”

The ‘Disinformation Dozen’ produces 65 per cent of the shares of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms, the chief executive officer of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate said. Some of these accounts deny the existence of Covid, while some claim false cures rather than vaccines are the way to beat the virus.

In reality, many people who have not received a vaccine might actually be facing a physical barrier to getting one. It could be that they cannot drive, vaccine centres are too far away, they work two jobs and have little spare time, they have children who they can’t wait in a long queue with, or centres are closed when they finish work.

“We’ve found that, for under 25s, the issue is having to book and wait in a long line,” he said, for this group, walk-in centres with a quick turnaround is best. Meanwhile, for older generations, the concern is often around ease of access, if it is easy to park, or if there’s a nearby bus. Other people might be more comfortable going to a venue they’re familiar with – like a church or mosque. While some groups will only want to visit a women-only space.