Increasing vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities

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Increasing vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities

We have been struck by how COVID-19 has affected the health and wellbeing of ethnic minority groups disproportionately. Individuals from these communities are more likely to have severe disease requiring intensive care admission and sadly succumb to infection than those from a white ethnic background. This is independent of age, gender or socioeconomic factors. However, vaccine uptake has been low in certain communities and for lots of different reasons. These include specific concerns about vaccine safety, increased exposure to misinformation, reduced access to vaccines and historical distrust with institutions. Asylum seekers have cited negative experiences with authorities, and some don’t trust public health messaging related to vaccines. Central government often use one-way messaging, which will sometimes miss these groups. Promoting vaccination through celebrity adverts, videos via social media and community champions may also not reach disaffected communities who feel marginalized during the pandemic. We encourage a two-way dialog in the hope that these groups can trust us with providing evidence-based answers to queries and enable informed decision making before getting a vaccine.

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