By Kwesi-lee Williamson
The BAME community has become very sceptical of all thing’s vaccine. Some people agree that they should take the Covid-19 vaccine, while others do not believe that it is necessary.
“Knowing what I know about my body and how sick I can get I wouldn’t think twice about injecting a foreign substance in my body. No way!” said Ransford Williamson, 65, retired.
The British Medical Journal has recently acknowledged that there are disparities in uptake with the vaccine amongst ethnic groups. “With mass covid-19 vaccination efforts under way in many countries, including the UK, we need to understand and redress the disparities in its uptake,” it said in a recent article.
Even more worryingly, data show “how substantially lower rates of covid-19 vaccinations among over 80s in ethnic minority (white people 42.5%, black people 20.5%) and deprived communities (least deprived 44.7%, most deprived 37.9%) in England”, it said.
Fears in the community
At a London Metropolitan University event called ‘COVID 19 and the BAME Community: To Vaccinate or Not?’, panellists spoke about the fears within the BAME community concerning the Covid-19 vaccinations.
Elizabeth Opara, Head of Human Sciences at London Met, said: “My 81-year-old mother has taken the vaccine but has friends who are hesitant.”
Dr Samira Hassan, Doctor from Leicester, said: “I am raising awareness to the Somali community and debunking myths that are flying around.”
The BMJ sought to make a difference between people who are “hesitant” about getting a vaccination, and anti-vaxxers.
“Vaccine hesitancy, characterised by uncertainty and ambivalence about vaccination, is a legitimate viewpoint, underscoring the failure or lack of effective public health messaging. People who are hesitant can still be convinced of the vaccines’ safety, efficacy, and necessity, and, most importantly, they are not ‘anti-vaxxers,'” the article said.
Sarah Ann Filson, nurse, said: “The more people are vaccinated the more data we have.”
Statistics from GOV.uk show that ‘Black people are more likely to be diagnosed and that 10% to 50% of the BAME community have a higher risk of death compared to other ethnicities’ if they catch Covid-19.
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