THE much-anticipated rollout of a vaccine for Covid-19 could be put at risk by an increasingly strident anti-vaxxer lobby.

Anti-vaccine campaigners, supported by earlier interventions from celebrities Woody Harrelson, Amir Khan, John Cusack and Amanda Holden, have ratcheted up their opposition since three programmes – from Pfizer/BioNtech, Sputnik and Moderna – showed promising results.

The UK Government ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, 40m of the one from Pfizer/BioNTech and five million of the Moderna vaccine.

But the fear remains that a proliferation from conspiracy theorists of misinformation through social media and protests, tied in with other complaints regarding curtailment of civil liberties tied to Covid restrictions, could refuel the fire.

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie is just one high-profile figure concerned. He told the Sunday National: “Investigative journalists have shown that online conspiracies are gaining an audience in Scotland. These include ideas linked to Covid denial, anti-vaccine myths, climate denial and far-right ideologies. These conspiracies pose a very real threat to public health.

“Research by Hope Not Hate has shown that one in four people in the UK agrees with online conspiracy theories. The Royal Society has suggested that around a third of the public are uncertain or unlikely to accept a vaccine when it is available.

“It’s essential that these myths are challenged. Vaccines are safe. They help us protect ourselves from potential harm and keep our friends, families and communities safe too.

“Whatever anyone may think about a particular company involved in the production of any vaccine it’s important to understand that nothing will be approved without the say-so of the independent regulator which exposes any potential vaccine to robust examination.”

The scientific community has become increasingly concerned about the damage the anti-vaxxer movement could inflict.

Vaccine Confidence Project director, Professor Heidi Larson, said: “You could have a good amount of the population going to take the [Covid-19] vaccine but that little difference, that swing vote if you think of it in political terms, can make the difference between getting to herd immunity or not.’’ While the Scottish Government is not making the vaccine compulsory they are rolling out an information campaign to counteract the anti-vaxxer narrative.

Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “What we have to do is hear what concerns people have about why they would be reluctant to take the vaccine.

“In Scotland we have a very good record of high uptake of vaccines and we’ve a strong track record of delivering them safely and effectively. Every household in the country will receive information early next year explaining the safety of the vaccine and how the programme will work.”

While Prime Minister Boris Johnson dismissed anti-vaxxers as “nuts”, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “I think all of us should guard against buying into conspiracy theories on the internet or anywhere else and on Covid that is obviously particularly important.”

Pressure has grown on tech firms to monitor more closely anti-vaxxers but Google, Facebook and Twitter insist they have policies to deal with false content on their platforms and actively push better sources of information.

But the Scottish Greens’ co-leader again warned: “Social media companies have a responsibility to remove disinformation from their platforms. This stuff is irresponsible at the best of times, but during a pandemic it is downright dangerous.

“If the companies themselves are unwilling to act then it is vital that governments insist and apply appropriate regulation. It is dangerous enough for key workers to deliver our essential services during a pandemic without having to deal with people who have been caught up in online conspiracy theories too.”