Ethnic minorities less likely to take Covid-19 jab

People from ethnic minority backgrounds or with lower incomes are less likely to take the coronavirus vaccine being rolled out in Britain, research suggested yesterday, raising concerns about whether the jab would reach the communities that have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic.

A survey by Britain’s Royal Society for Public Health said that while three-quarters of those polled would take a Covid-19 vaccine if advised to do so by a doctor, that figure fell to 57 per cent among black people and those from Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds.

The body also said the survey “revealed significantly more hesitancy among lower income groups” — with 70 per cent of lowest earners likely to agree to the jab, compared to 84 per cent of highest earners.

Public health experts and doctors say the findings are concerning, but unsurprising. They align with consistently lower uptake rates of other vaccines among ethnic minority communities and in poorer neighbourhoods.

That reluctance — a result of factors like public health messaging not reaching the communities and mistrust of authority based on past experiences — has been exacerbated by misinformation and anti-vaccination campaigns.

UK officials have not said they would prioritise black or ethnic minority communities during the coronavirus vaccine rollout. Dr Salman Waqar, general secretary of the British Islamic Medical Association, said that will be up to individual health trusts.