A Labour councillor has reportedly had her whip removed by the party after claiming to have received a Covid-19 vaccine from a private doctor outside of the NHS. According to The Department of Health and Social Care, it would be illegal to administer vaccines outside of the NHS.
Jamila Azad, who has been elected to both Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council, has now removed the post from her Facebook page. According to her initial Facebook post Ms Azad and another woman appeared to have been receiving injections from a man in medical scrubs and PPE, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
The comment noted it was a "Private Care Doctor for Covid-19 vaccine. A long wait for NHS waiting list."
It is unclear where Ms Azad may have received the vaccine. In the meantime, Labour has said that she has not been suspended from the party but will effectively sit as an independent councillor while an investigation is carried out. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which would be responsible for any enforcement action, said it was investigating.
Councillors Susan Brown and Liz Brighouse, the leaders of the Labour groups at Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council, issued a joint statement in relation to the post.
It noted, "Following a recent post on her Facebook account about her Covid-19 vaccination, Councillor Jamila Azad has been suspended by the whips of both the Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council Labour groups, pending further investigation. Councillor Azad has now been removed from the post in question. We will be making no further comment on this matter until formal investigations into it have been completed."
