Eric Clapton actually feared he would ``never play again.”
The three-time rock and roll hal-of-famer, recently shared his experience after taking his COVID-19 vaccine.
The “Layla” singer said the vaccine he took had a “disastrous” effect on him.
Clapton blamed “the propaganda for overstating the safety of the vaccine,” Rolling Stone reported.
Clapton’s statement was culled from a letter he wrote to one Robin Monotti, who then shared the same on his Telegram with the consent of the guitarist.
In the letter, Clapton wrote: “I took the first jab of AZ (AstraZeneca) and straight away had severe reactions which lasted ten days. I recovered eventually and was told it would be twelve weeks before the second one.”
“About six week later I was offered and took the second AZ shot, but with a little more knowledge of the dangers. Needless to say the reactions were disastrous, my hands and feet were either frozen, numb or burning, and pretty much useless for two weeks, I feared I would never play again, (I suffer with peripheral neuropathy and should have never gone near the needle.) But the propaganda said the vaccine was safe for everyone,” Clapton wrote.
A statement from the U.K. government body overseeing the vaccine, the MHRA, did not comment on Clapton’s statement but said, “over 56 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 have now been administered in the UK, saving thousand of lives through the biggest vaccination programme that has ever taken place in this country. Our Advice remains that the benefits of the Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca outweigh the risks in the majority of the people. It is still vitally important that people come forward for their vaccination when invited to do so.”
The Rolling Stone report also added that according to the MHRA, fatigue, chills, headache, and joint pain “are very common,” reactions to the AstraZeneca shot and “these reactions are the standard immune response of the body to the vaccines.” The FDA declared last December 2020 that the AstraZeneca vaccine is 95 percent effective.
In the letter to Monotti, an “architect and UK anti-lockdown activist,” Clapton also discussed UK politician Desmond Swayne whose anti-lockdown views appealed to Clapton, and of the guitarist’s involvement to fellow musician and rock legend Van Morrisson’s “Latest Project Record Vol. 1” album.
Clapton recorded Morrison’s song “Stand And Deliver” and also performed on Morrison’s “Where Have All The Rebels Gone?” track. The album is in support for the workers in the live music industry affected by the pandemic.
Protesting against lockdown measures in song and sharing his scary experience with the AZ vaccine notwithstanding, in his letter, Clapton said: “It’s not provocative, it just asks ‘Where have all the rebels gone? Hiding behind their computer screens. Where’s the spirit, where is the soul. Where have all the rebels gone.”
“I’ve been a rebel all my life, against tyranny and arrogant authority, which is what we have now. But I also crave fellowship, compassion and love…I believe with these things we can prevail,” wrote Clapton.