As coronavirus continues to grip the nation, the vaccine rollout continues in order to protect the most vulnerable in society.
Yet scepticism about it and its effectiveness has persisted, with some fearing possible side-effects of getting the jab.
'Some'..? Well, maybe. It has been an extraordinary quick response to a pandemic. It's not a surprise some are sceptical.
Levels of this scepticism are highest among the Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, according to a Royal Society for Public Health survey which found that BAME groups were less likely to want to get the Covid vaccine.
Ah. We are in the realms of identity politics here, I see,
Dean Henry was born and bred in Gloucester, and has lived in the Barnwood area for 33 years.
His parents are both Jamaican and moved to Gloucester before he was born. He said that a major reason for the doubt amongst his community is the lack of trust in its safety, and fears over side effects.
Fair enough. I'm sure there are plenty of people in other demographics with the same concerns.
"Most of the stuff we hear in the news is that we're okay to take it, but that it hasn't been tested over a long period of time.
"So we want to know whether there's any specific testing among our community."
Let's ask the experts!
Dr Mala Ubhi, from NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “The vaccines approved for use in the UK have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
"The MHRA follows international standards of safety; any coronavirus vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through.
"The Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca trials involved participants from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities.”
There. Happy now?
He added that the lack of BAME representation in the media can also lead to mistrust of the news: "The people who work at news agencies may not look like me, so they may not have those kind of questions in their mind."
Wait, what..? Who was that medical representative, again?
Dr Mala Ubhi, from NHS Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group...
Hmmm. Maybe it's me, but if you won't believe him, why on earth should journalists who 'look like you' make any difference?
Our adopted daughter is of Han Chinese origin (we lived in Hong Kong for 28 years and adopted there). She is a newly-qualified Nurse (1st Class Hons)working in our local hospital. She was posted to what used to be a critical cardiac ward but is now a critical Covid-19 ward.
ReplyDeleteShe was offered, and immediately accepted, the Oxford/Astra-Zenica vaccine, the local NHS Trust prioritised her because she is of Asian extraction. She is very well aware of what the consequences of suffering Covid-19 can be. She simply cannot understand why others considered to be of higher risk of infection will not have the vaccination.
It must be intensely frustrating to see people turning down something like this...
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