The British Asian Trust hosted an exclusive webinar on last Thursday (18 February 2021) to address concerns and challenges related to worryingly low vaccine uptake in ethnic minority communities. The event was a part of an exclusive webinar series which brought together eminent British Asian and South Asian politicians, business leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists.
Recent data shows people from ethnic minority backgrounds are less likely to take the Covid-19 vaccine.
OpenSafely, a study run by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine highlighted that Indians and British Indians were found to be in a slightly higher uptake range of 83.4% of those eligible having received their jabs as of February 11. This compares to 93% among the British or Mixed British category.
The lowest uptake was noted within the Black communities at 51.2%, followed by Pakistanis at 62.9% and Bangladeshis at 63.7%.
Each jab in the arm brings us closer to beating this pandemic
Panellists who joined on the day explained how the vaccine works, and why it is safe, to instil peace of mind for those who may have seen and shared inaccurate information about the vaccine.
Opening remarks were delivered by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Royal Founding Patron of the British Asian Trust. The 72-year-old royal said, “It is clear that the virus has affected all parts of the country and all sections of society, but it is also clear that there are particular challenges faced in particular sections of our society, especially in some ethnic minority communities.
“What saddens me even further is to hear that those challenges are being made even worse by the variable uptake of the vaccines, which finally offers a way out of the suffering of the past year… vaccination will save lives, will prevent serious illness, will protect our health service and will allow us to start to hope that things might return in some sense to normal for every member of our society.”
Contributing to the event were key leaders including Nadhim Zahawi MP, Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment and Minister for Business & Industry; Adar Poonawalla, CEO, Serum Institute of India; Prof. Kevin Fenton, London Regional Director, Public Health England; Prof. Farida Fortune, Professor of Medicine in relation to Oral Immunobiology and Regenerative Medicine, QMUL; Dr Nikita Kanani MBE, Medical Director for Primary Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement; Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London.
Nadhim Zahawi MP, Minister for Covid Vaccine Deployment and Minister for Business and Industry said: “We recognise some groups feel more hesitant about getting a vaccine or have more barriers preventing them from accessing one when offered. “It is extremely important for me to connect with a range of different communities, and today's webinar was a brilliant initiative to address some very real concerns among British Asians.
“Each jab in the arm brings us closer to beating this pandemic and the government has published a plan to make sure everyone is protected equally, regardless of their background or religion, by working closely with those who know their communities best to encourage as many people as possible to get their vaccine.”
Dr Nikki Kanani, a general practitioner (GP) and NHS medical director for primary care said, “There are no animal products within these vaccines, and it is absolutely safe to take them. It does not impact fertility and offers strong protection.”
Adar Poonawalla, CEO of the Serum Institute of India, who joined the virtual event from India spoke about his company’s collaboration with Oxford University to manufacture vaccines. He added that they are soon likely to be exported to the UK as well.
The event was moderated by British Asian Trust ambassador and BBC journalist Ritula Shah.
Independent video campaign urging ethnic minority communities to dispel myths
An independent video campaign urging ethnic minority communities to dispel myths and take the Covid-19 vaccine aired across all major UK broadcasters in an unprecedented TV moment taking place on Thursday 18 February at 9:56pm.The video, which features stars addressing unique cultural challenges and concerns around the vaccine in minority communities, launched a campaign to encourage vaccine uptake. The simultaneous television broadcast and coming together of all the major commercial channels and the BBC will be a first in British media history.
The original video has been re-edited and reshot with new faces including TV stars Adil Ray OBE, Sanjeev Bhaskar OBE, Meera Syal CBE, Shobna Gulati, Romesh Ranganathan, Asim Chaudhry, England cricketer Moeen Ali and broadcasters Konnie Huq, Alex Beresford, Mehreen Baig, Ria Hebden and Sonali Shah.
