NADIM ZAHAWI TALKS VACCINES
VACCINES MINISTER ADMITS CONCERN OVER LACK OF TAKE-UP AMONG ASIANS
THE vaccines deployment minister, Nadim Zahawi, is urging south Asians not to waste the chance of getting a Covid jab.
He also backed family doctors who are demanding patients continue to wear masks in surgeries, even though restrictions were lifted last week (19).
In an exclusive interview with Eastern Eye, the minister said he was concerned by the lack of vaccine take-up, especially among 18- to 30-year-olds.
Analysis by this paper shows that more than 50 per cent of south Asians over-18 are not fully protected.
“I continue to be concerned, especially among the 18- to 30-year-olds, across the whole country, not just the south Asian community,” he said.
“We’ve got about 35 per cent of the age group still unprotected, so that’s about three million people.
“If you’re not vaccinated, if you do get Covid, it could be mild, but if it’s not, it’s quite severe, and it could lead to hospitalisation.”
Eastern Eye
has reported how so-called vaccine hesitancy is prevalent among south Asian communities. Fake news, such as the vaccine harming pregnant women, is spread through WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
“All this information about fertility is complete lies, this is disinformation,” Zahawi said.
“We also work with the social networks to take this stuff down where we can, [we] highlight it and flag it to them, and they do do that,” he added.
“We’ve got a unit across government in the Cabinet Office that does that. It’s really important that people get the information from reliable sources, from your local GP, from the NHS.”
The minister also made clear that he was working across political lines to make sure the public was being protected.
He stressed that the government was doing everything possible to engage with south Asian communities.
“I’m trying to work across my whole team, and I see it as one team, whether it’s the metro mayors, in Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham and Andy Street, and all the other great mayors around the country.
“[In] local government, Newham Council last weekend had 23 pop-ups in mosques and temples and primary care networks,” he said. “You literally would trip over a site if you are walking anywhere in Newham, and that access to the vaccine is making a huge difference.”
But Eastern Eye was told how one south Asian GP was threatened by a patient who said they would complain to the General Medical Council (GMC) if the doctor forced them to wear a mask during a consultation.
The minister was clear that doctors had nothing to fear.
“Continue to use your personal responsibility, corporate responsibility for corporates, you know, whether it’s supermarkets, or Transport for London or other transport systems,” he said.
“It’s right because the guidance is very clear that in indoor crowded places, you’re expected to wear a mask.
“You are encouraged to wear masks and supported to wear a mask. So, I think they are doing the right thing by asking their patients to do this. “Let’s just remember, this is probably one of the most infectious respiratory diseases that is aerosol transmitted, through your nose and mouth, that humankind has ever had to experience, had to try and deal with.”
Family doctors have told Eastern Eye about their concerns of the vaccinations becoming ineffective.
“I’ve had both my vaccines by January, and now we don’t have Covid red centres,” they said.
These are sites which assess patients with suspected coronavirus symptoms.
“I’m expected to see Covid patients at my GP practice,” they said. “My worry is that the immunity will wear off, and I’ll catch the severe form of the virus, especially because we don’t have the proper personal protective equipment.”
The minister confirmed that the government planned to roll out booster jabs in early September.
He also revealed that, like the flu vaccine, this was most likely to be offered annually.
“We have a big ambition, wherever possible, to co-administer a flu and Covid booster jab to protect the most vulnerable.
“We’ve had the interim advice from the experts (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Iimmunisation), and we’re following that advice to protect the most vulnerable.
“Ultimately, we will probably have a campaign every year, like we do with flu, a Covid vaccination programme annually, in order to protect the nation. We have to live with this virus.”
Prime minister Boris Johnson appointed Zahawi to his current post in November last year. Since that time, the minister has been leading the vaccination rollout, facing often hostile questioning by journalists and members of the public.
So, how has he found the pressure of being the nation’s “pandemic saviour”?
“I’m going to be totally candid with you, because actually, my wife said this to me a couple of days ago,” said Zahawi, smiling.
“She said, ‘it feels like you have been living
in a pressure cooker for the past eight months’. And every time she sees me on televi sion, I look a little bit more tired with more rings around my eyes.
“It has been at times like living in the pressure cooker because of every step, every decision, and we’re making hundreds of decisions a day, thousands a week, in government,” he admitted.
But unlike many a politician, this minister
knows he cannot do anything without “his team”.
“The pressure of the vaccination programme and protecting the nation is on the shoulders of the whole team,” Zahawi said.
“We know every step has to be right, and that’s been a challenge. But I have to say I’m also in many ways blessed. I’ve got some of the best people that I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure to work with.”