MPs: Far right spreading jab fears among BAME people
Extremists using fake news in sick bid to harm ethnic communities - claim
FAR-RIGHT groups are spreading anti-Covid vaccine conspiracies among ethnic minority groups, it was claimed this week. The disturbing claim was made by Birmingham Labour MPs Liam Byrne and Shabana Mahmood who said online misinformation and conspiracy theories about the virus could discourage people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups from seeking the jab.
The pair called out “anti-vaxxers” and urged people from all backgrounds to receive the jab to protect themselves during an online meeting with community leaders about vaccine myths.
According to a recent survey by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Public Health England, people from BAME backgrounds are almost three times more likely to reject a Covid-19 vaccine than those from white backgrounds. But to ensure maximum protection against Covid-19, about 70 per cent of the population will need immunity against the disease, which makes it even more important that any fears and mistrust are dispelled. It comes after a vaccination centre was opened at the Al-Abbas Islamic Centre, in Balsall Heath, where leader urged people to ignore “fake news” surrounding coronavirus. Ladywood MP Ms Mahmood added: “Some people will hear the word ‘theory’ and think there’s something in it.
“I wonder if sharper, more direct messages that call out these lies are needed.
“I think bringing out that it is actually the far right who want to wipe people like us out anyway who are behind this might be a way of reaching the communities that are affected.”
Mr Byrne added: “There is so much misinformation. It’s in community groups and Facebook groups where much of this propaganda is being sown.
“We do think that the far right is sowing some of this propaganda proactively.”
Mr Byrne, the MP for Hodge Hill, said he wanted counter-terrorism teams in West Midlands Police to investigate the distribution of such dangerous misinformation by extremist groups.
“They are pretty good at getting some of this down and revealing the truth about that. I think it could be quite helpful,” he said.
In a stark warning over the latest stage of the pandemic, he said: “The agony of loss people have been through over the last year has been horrifying. Now we’re in a race once again of the virus versus the vaccine.”
Dr Adeel Riaz, a member of the British Islamic Medical Association, said some theories are also coming to the UK from abroad.
“They do affect the public when they come across as a front line clinician and start talking about some half-baked ‘scientific evidence’,” said
We do think that the far-right is sowing some of this propaganda proactively Liam Byrne MP
Dr Riaz. “There’s about 30 to 40 conspiracy theories on Covid and vaccines. Every day there is something new.”
He said “short and sharp messages”, including video clips from prominent local leaders, to the community in different languages would dispel many myths.
Gurinder Singh Josan, from the Socialist Health Association, said: “We do a lot of monitoring of conspiracy theories on far social media channels.
“We have some real insight over how this has developed over recent times.
“There’s a real responsibility on social media platforms to sort their act out, and in the absence of that there is a responsibility on Government to legislate and regulate and ensure this happens.
“There are clear
right and
links between
people who start off getting exposure to information from some kind of semi-authority figure.
“They reference some kind of research and then that leads on to other things and suddenly they are down a rabbit hole and into the realms of conspiracy theories.”
Other community leaders this week claimed the killing of George Floyd by US police and distrust and fear are all playing a part in deterring many ethnic minorities from getting the vaccine.
Emmanuel Adesoko, founder of the city’s New Covenant Ministries churches, said more needed to be done to reach out to minority populations through mutual respect and sharing information openly.
“People do not respond well to fear-based prompting. That is not a long term solution. We need to educate and give open, honest awareness of the benefits,” he told Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner in an online meeting.
Asked what could be behind the apparent reluctance, he said: “There is a mixed reaction... there is historical experience of some mistrust around things that have happened in the past in the NHS.
“There are also traditional views around diet and eating habits as an organic way of healing the body. There are also interpretations of scripture that have an impact.
“But there is a lot of fear as well. Multiple things have happened in society recently. The racially motivated murders in America have spread across the world, and that, with a crisis, is causing fear-based interpretations.”
He recommended a strategy to encourage vaccine take up including:
Oline experts.
Empowering leaders accurate information.
Communicating open and honest data.
Have ambassadors from the black community help push the messages and it was a “huge opportunity” for
forums
with
to
share
government, communities media to work together.
Ms Rayner is pressing the Government to release data showing vaccine take-up by ethnicity to better understand if some communities are showing more reluctance than others.
and
To date, only very limited data has been made available, showing only the total number of jabs given.
It is just one part of the urgent action needed to ensure black and Asian communities – already hardest hit by the vaccine – are not left behind again, Ms Rayner told the Post.
“We know within the black community there is distrust, even within the NHS, so where those issues manifest themselves it is more important that trusted community leaders deliver those messages.
“We need experts in the field sharing their experiences, just making sure people are aware of the danger
but also the impact and safety of the vaccine. I am really concerned that without the Government making a push on this then unfortunately black, Asian and minority ethnic people in our communities, as they have been with jobs, as they have been with health and death rates, will be disproportionately impacted.” Birmingham and Solihull CCG is among the health partners overseeing the rollout of the vaccination programme.
A spokesman said: “We are working with trusted community voices to develop messages which they are then using on their own networks to encourage the uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“We are taking up every opportunity to talk to any groups where there is hesitancy about the vaccine and we welcome opportunities to do so.
“We are ensuring that our message is cascaded through community radio stations too and we will continue to work with our colleagues in Public Health and our community leaders to do whatever we can to dispel myths and grow confidence in the vaccine.”