THE owner of an alternative healing salon in Glasgow has said she will not treat customers who have had the Covid vaccine.
Suzanne Holliday, founder of White Rabbit Healing in the city centre, posted on Instagram that she would no longer offer her services to existing or new customers, citing concerns over the jag.
This included the debunked theory that it is "experimental until 2023" and anecdotal social media reports about its side effects.
Holliday, who founded the business in 2015, insisted she made the decision to protect "her clients, herself and her child" and hoped her message would "reach the right people".
A post on the White Rabbit Instagram account, which has since been made private, read: "Starting from Monday 31st May 2021, I (Suzanne) will not be treating any new or existing clients who have received any Covid vaccination.
"This decision is not one of fear.
"Fear is the lowest vibration. It is simply to protect my clients, myself and my child from the unknown effects of this experimental injection after my own experiences since coming back to work.
"I don’t just hang out in the same room as you. I massage my skin against your skin for 8 hours a day."
The post, which referenced concerns over "delayed or missing periods", "swollen limbs", and "blood clots", added: "The real lived experience of thousands, mostly women, confirm this. Women are often dismissed and their voices silenced.
"Let me assure you it will not be happening at White Rabbit."
Dr Georgia Perona-Wright, who is a senior lecturer in Immunology at the University of Glasgow, was among those to debunk the theories posted on the account.
Of the claim the jag is "experimental", she said: "This isn't true.
"The vaccines approved for use in the UK (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZenceca, and Johnson & Johnson) have all been through all the normal safety and efficacy trials that every new drug goes through.
"These trials and approvals happened quickly, but no steps were missed or rushed: instead, there were a couple of things that helped speed up this checking and approval process.
"Some steps happened at the same time instead of subsequently. The high case numbers in the pandemic also enabled the checks to happen more quickly, as often delays in trials happen while waiting to recruit enough volunteers and patients and, in a vaccine trail, waiting for enough people to be exposed to the virus that we can assess whether the vaccine works.
"Sadly, the extraordinary spread of the Covid virus meant that very many people were exposed, and hence data was gathered quickly.
"The data show very clearly that the vaccines work to reduce disease, and the vaccines were approved on this basis.
"Since then, we also have more data suggesting that they reduce transmission of the virus too. So the vaccines are not experimental; they have been tested just as thoroughly as any other drug your GP or hospital doctor will prescribe."
Addressing some of the concerns over side effects, Dr Persona-Wright added: "There have been some anecdotal reports on social media by women who have noted changes in their period after being vaccinated.
"The reports have both been of heavier than normal flow, and lighter; and of both early and late periods.
"The great majority of these reports suggest that only one menstrual cycle is affected, very rarely two.
"These effects are now being studied, so anyone who experiences changes in menstruation after vaccination is asked to submit a Yellow Card report, https://coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/, so that data scientists can assess whether this is a vaccine side effect that should be included on the list of side effects that we expect from the vaccine.
"There is a possible link, in that immune responses can briefly affect hormone levels, like progesterone and estrogen, and this might have a short-term impact on menstruation.
"Being infected also triggers an immune response, and a more variable immune response than the one triggered by the vaccine (sometimes milder, sometimes much more intense), so any changes caused by the vaccine would also expect to be triggered by severe Covid.
"Separately, there has been a lot of speculation about whether the covid vaccines can affect fertility. There is no scientific basis to these fears."
Finally, of concerns over swollen limbs and blood clots, she added: "All of these sound like exaggerations of some side effects that we do expect.
"The vaccine triggers an immune response – that means it’s working – and one impact of an immune response is a little bit of redness, soreness, and even some swelling at the injection site. It is typically small, and it typically only lasts three or four days.
"Having a sore arm after vaccination is quite common. Some people also experience feeling tired or even “flu-y” (aching limbs, a mild fever, a mild headache). These are all also normal symptoms of a strong immune response and should all dissipate within 3-4 days of vaccination. It’s totally okay to take paracetomol to help relieve these symptoms too.
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: Nicola Sturgeon to confirm possible restriction easing
"These clots are very rare, affecting about 1 in 200,000 of vaccine recipients. We now understand them a little more and can treat them more effectively, but they are still very serious for those affected.
"These are not the same as normal blood clots, like deep vein thrombosis. They are caused through a very different mechanism, involving a mis-firing of the person’s immune system.
"The only good news there is that anyone who has a history of clotting disorders, stroke or DVT, is no more likely to get clots after a covid vaccine than anyone without this medical history. They are very different types of clot.
"Several drugs we take quite commonly also have risks of clots. An example is the oral contraceptive that many women take regularly: the likelihood that you will develop a deep vein thrombosis type clot from taking the pill is much higher than the likelihood that you will develop VITT clots from an Astrazeneca covid vaccine. In both cases, the clots are very rare, and the benefits from taking the drug are significant."
The White Rabbit website says the company, based on Hope Street, was founded by Holliday in 2015 in "a move to redress her own mental health, balance and lack of fulfilment".
It adds that she is the daughter of a Hare Krishna devotee and psychic medium and finds joy guiding people in search of "self-love, self-acceptance and transformation".
Holliday was contacted for further comment.
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