The ITV talk show Lorraine has prompted over 1,300 complaints to Ofcom with a recent segment discussing Covid vaccinations.
Monday’s (6 December) instalment of the show, hosted by Lorraine Kelly, featured Spandau Ballet star Martin Kemp, who was interviewed on the show after spearheading a campaign to promote vaccine uptakes among UK citizens.
During the segment, the show’s medical specialist Dr Hilary Jones claimed that “90 per cent of the people that are in hospital are unvaccinated”.
“That’s a figure that we have to really concentrate on,” said Kelly.
However, viewers complained that the figures were false, prompting a clarification from Kelly on the show earlier today (8 December).
Ofcom, the UK’s broadcast standards regulator, confirmed it has already received 1,312 complaints over the incident.
While the vaccine has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalisation among those affected by Covid, it is untrue that 90 per cent of Covid patients in hospital are not vaccinated.
Jamie Jenkins, a former analyst at the Office of National Statistics, was among those to call out the mistake, writing on Twitter that the real figure is closer to 36 per cent in England, not 90 per cent.
Speaking on her series, Kelly offered a clarification about the figures, stating: “This is 90 per cent of patients in hospital who are very seriously ill, and receiving the most specialist care.”
The figure was attributed to a report in The Sunday Times, citing NHS England, but the data itself has yet to be made available to the public.
The Independent has contacted ITV for comment.
