Basingstoke A&E doctor makes viral videos on Covid vaccines

They are the words of a Basingstoke A&E doctor who is using her spare time to make viral videos on social media to counter misinformation about Covid-19.

Dr Tasnim Jara's short videos have racked up 280 million minutes viewed on Facebook and Twitter, and in some cases her TikTok videos have had more than 500,000 views.

The 26-year-old, currently studying for her masters degree in evidence-based healthcare at Oxford University, as well as working at Basingstoke hospital's A&E department, is part of Team Halo, a group of doctors and scientists which has been using social media to provide reliable information about the disease and the safety of the vaccines.

One of Tasnim's videos sees her receive her second dose.

Dr Jara told The Gazette: "We can’t reasonably expect everyone to be able to read through all the journals and understand the evidence. That is why we need experts.

"Essentially [I am] just giving them the evidence that we have. I have been doing that for around a year now and then I came across Team Halo.

"They are a team of experts and scientists and the idea is that people who are working to bring the vaccines also share information with the general public. We volunteer our time to make the short videos.

"There are anti-vaxxers, but also people who have genuine concerns. It is understandable, it is difficult to navigate all of this information.

"I am trying to help them navigate those decisions based on evidence."

Dr Jara, who has been working at Basingstoke hospital since March 2019, was returning from her shifts during the pandemic to see misinformation circling on social media, and decided she had to do something about it.

"It was a humbling experience working in A&E and then I kept seeing these random misinformation posts being shared online all the time or promoting this and that as a cure for Covid that had no scientific basis.

Dr Tasnim Jara works at Basingstoke's A&E department

"As the vaccine was being developed, there were rumours surrounding that as well.

"I thought I need to do something about it and in my small way what can I do? I can try to explain things in a way that people understand.

"I didn’t expect it to reach so many people. When they started telling me that it is really helping, and that it has convinced them to take the vaccine, those are the really inspiring bits."

Not only is Dr Jara, who also works for NHS England, helping English-speaking people navigate the misinformation, but also those from backgrounds less likely to take up the vaccine.

In the latest report published by ONS on vaccination rates in people aged 70 and above, people from Bangladeshi and Pakistani backgrounds had the lowest rates of continuing to a second dose.

The report also found that people whose main language was not English were less likely to receive the first and the second dose compared to native speakers.

When combined with research that shows people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had around twice the risk of death than people of White British ethnicity, and Dr Jara knows the potential dangers of misinformation and low vaccine uptake in that part of the community.

"I know the language and can speak the language. I understand the evidence so that is why I started to make these short videos."

Asked what her advice would be to people who have genuinely having concerns over whether to take the vaccine or not, she said: "I would request them to speak to someone they trust and someone who is knowledgeable about Covid and the vaccine.

"They can [also] follow the Project Halo team. Send us their questions, they many have been answered.

"Having concerns is completely valid but I would probably not listen to anonymous, faceless sources on social media."

You can follow Dr Tasnim Jara on Facebook, YouTube and TikTok here.