Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat MPs with South Asian heritage have today come together to urge Britain’s South Asian communities to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Coronavirus has had a disproportionate impact on the UK’s Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. Official statistics show Black and South Asian people are twice as likely to die from coronavirus as white people.
In spite of the risk Covid-19 poses to South Asian communities, recent surveys have predicted there will be low take-up of the vaccine among these communities. A recent poll, commissioned by the Royal Society of Public Health, suggested just under half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people would refuse the vaccine. This low take-up is, in part, a result of the significant misinformation being spread among South Asians about the vaccine. Unfortunately, some of the misinformation being spread is religiously targeted with messages falsely claiming the vaccines contain animal product.
Inspired by last week’s video from Black MPs from parties across Parliament, this video is intended to counter the misinformation among South Asian communities regarding the vaccine. As leaders in their communities, MPs in this video hope it will reassure all British South Asians feel safe and confident to get the Covid-19 vaccine when they are called to do so.
The video is available here.
Nus Ghani said: “Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted our families and communities from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. Covid-19 vaccines are safe and approved, and protect us and our loved ones. We must not allow misinformation to deter our communities from keeping safe – and that means taking the Covid-19 vaccine.”
