There are now more than 6 million people in the UK who have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine as efforts to speed up the inoculations process continue to grow. But as more of those in the highest risk age groups get the injection, there are growing concerns in government about vaccine dose levels in some black and minority ethnic communities.
Guardian communities communicator Nazia Parveen telling Raonaid Humphreys while there is evidence that those in minority groups hit the hardest hit with the first wave of Covid-19 last year, they are among the least likely to accept a vaccine offer. False information circulating on social media leads to false rumors that the vaccine may contain alcohol or a pig that has spread widely and is hard to resist. But perhaps more challengingly, there are also structural, cultural and linguistic barriers.
Annabel Sowemimo, a doctor of sexual and community reproductive health, describes how unstable health inequalities differ from the data surrounding vaccine delay. She looks back at worldwide historical scandals of drugs tested on black communities without proper consent and the devastating long-term impact this has on trust.
Photo: PA
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