Laurence Fox: what did actor say about Covid vaccine before testing positive - and is he taking Ivermectin?

Actor and anti-lockdown campaigner Laurence Fox has revealed that he has tested positive for Covid-19, just days after speaking out against vaccines online.

This is everything you need to know.

What did Laurence Fox say about Covid vaccines?

Just days before revealing that he tested positive for Covid, Fox had spoken out against the vaccines being rolled out by the NHS in a bid to tackle the ongoing pandemic.

On Wednesday (26 January), Fox posted a picture of himself on Twitter wearing a t-shirt which said: “No vaccine needed. I have an immune system.”

Fox captioned the tweet with: “I really like my new t shirt.”

The tweet sparked backlash from users online.

One person replied to the tweet with a picture of their aunt, writing: “Here is my aunt. She had an immune system too. She caught Covid before the vaccines were available. But hey, she had her immune system, right? She died. Covid killed her.”

Another wrote: “Bloody hell Laurence, this is weak even by your low standards. The point of a vaccine is to train your immune system *in advance* so that it doesn’t have to learn how to overcome the infection when you actually have the infection.”

“You have eyes, yet you’re wearing glasses. You have skin, yet you’re wearing clothes. You have a sense of time, yet you’re wearing an expensive watch. You have a brain, yet you’ve posted a photo of yourself in a white t-shirt the internet can easily photoshop any message onto,” tweeted another.

Is he taking Ivermectin?

Fox announced his diagnosis on Sunday (30 January) on Twitter, with a tweet of a positive lateral flow test.

He wrote: “In other news, felt shivery and crap yesterday. Turns out I have been visited by Lord Covid at last and have the Omnicold (if the LFT is to be believed!) On the #Ivermectin, saline nasal rinse, quercetin, paracetamol and ibuprofen. More man flu than Wu-flu at the moment.”

Doctors, virologists and global authorities have all warned against taking ivermectin as a Covid treatment, as it is an anti-parasitic drug which is generally administered to animals to treat worms. It has occasionally been used for the treatment of scabies and other parasites in humans in small doses.

There has been no proof that ivermectin is an effective treatment against Covid, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stating that “while there are approved uses for ivermectin in people and animals, it is not approved for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19”.

Ivermectin has become the drug of choice amongst many Covid and vaccine skeptics, like controversial podcaster Joe Rogan who has recommended the drug in the past.

On Twitter, many have pointed out the irony that Fox, who said he didn’t need the vaccine because he has an immune system, is relying on medicine to help him feel better following his positive LFT.

One person wrote: “Guy who is against vaccines and science is relying on science to try and get better because it so happens that his immune system is not working according to his misinformation and does, in fact, need help….”

Another tweeted: “Why do you need Ivermectin, Mr Fox? Sure you have an immune system?”

Dr Ranj Singh also tweeted: “So Laurence Fox has #COVID…

“I hope he gets over it. But the irony of:

“- getting a condition you haven’t taken seriously

“- diagnosing using tests you don’t believe in

“- using unapproved medication to treat it despite stating that you rely on your immune system

“Gurl…”

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