Emmerdale’s James Hooton ‘disappoints’ fans as he says he ‘may not have vaccine’

Emmerdale actor James Hooton, who plays Sam Dingle on the ITV soap, has revealed he is ‘pro immune system’, and his active lifestyle and varied diet will save him from needing the Covid jab

Emmerdale actor James Hooton has left Twitter users “disappointed” after he revealed that he “may not” have the Covid vaccination.

The soap star, who plays Sam Dingle, instead believes his lifestyle choices will keep him safe – but fans urged him to reconsider for the “sake of others”.

He told his 18,700 followers: “I’m 47 years old. I take Vitamin C, D, Zinc, B-12, Q10 and anti virals such as Andrographis, Sambucus, Curcumin, along with regular exercise and a varied diet.

“I may not be taking a Covid vaccine.

“I may be labelled ‘anti vaxer’ for being pro immune system, pro informed choice,” adding a questioning emoji at the end.

His followers didn’t waste time in sharing their own feelings about his statement, with many not happy at all.

One said: “Disappointed in this statement James. Shocked in fact.”

Another wrote: “Not a team player, James? It’s good you are okay, but taking the vaccine is about protecting those whoa re vulnerable.

“You’ve only considered yourself in your decision according to your tweet, which essentially says, ‘I’m alright, Jack.’

“You could have a mild case and spread.”

A third told him: “And that protects us taking the vaccine? Well let’s hope you don’t need the NHS!”

A fourth urged: “Please take the vaccine for the sake of others.”

While someone else added: “This man’s pumping himself full of chemicals but won’t get a vaccine.”

However many other people applauded him for “having the guts” to make his statement so publicly.

So far, more than 40million doses of one of the vaccines have been administered to people in the UK.

More than 12% of the population has had both jabs required for full vaccination.

The vaccination is currently on offer to people aged 45 and over, the clinically vulnerable, care homes, health and social care workers, people with a learning disability and carers for vulnerable people.

The NHS website explains that you can still catch or spread Covid if you have the vaccine, however the first dose “should give you good protection from coronavirus from three or four weeks after you’ve had it”.