UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid sincerely apologises for 'cower' COVID-19 remark

After being accused of insulting coronavirus victims, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid apologised for saying that people should no longer “cower” from COVID-19. Javid had made the comments in a now-deleted tweet, announcing that he had made a “full recovery” from the virus, a week after testing positive. “Please, if you haven’t yet, get your jab, as we learn to live with, rather than cower from, this virus,” the minister added. 

Following his social media post, Labour accused him of denigrating those who followed the rules. Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour Party, was one of several lawmakers from opposition parties and people who have lost family members to the pandemic to criticise his use of the phrase "cower from". Rayner blamed the “catastrophic failures” of the government and said, “how dare you denigrate people for trying to keep themselves and their families safe”.  

Jo Goodman, the co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, also slammed Javid and called his comments “deeply insensitive on a number of levels”. Goodman said that Javid’s “cower” phrase was not only “hurtful” but also “insults” all those still doing their best to protect others from the devastation the virus could bring. The Lib Dem’s health spokesperson, Munira Wilson, also said Javid’s tweet was “outrageous” while thousands remain in hospital with COVID-19. It is worth noting that Cower is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as meaning to bend down or move backward with your head down because you are frightened. 

Javid apologises for ‘poor choice of words’ 

After being criticised, Javid deleted the Tweet and apologised for “poor choice of words”. In a separate post, the minister said that he was expressing gratitude that the vaccines help fight back the virus as a society. In his new tweet, Javid said that even he has lost loved ones to the virus and would “never minimise its impact”. 

Meanwhile, Javid, who replaced Matt Hancock as health minister, began his job by urging people to learn to live with the virus. The United Kingdom, which has one of the highest official COVID-19 death numbers, has shifted its strategy to fight coronavirus from using restrictions to limit its spread to opening up society in the hope vaccines will protect most people from a serious illness. However, ministers have been criticised over the past weeks for undermining the public health campaign against the pandemic by giving mixed messages about the virus.

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