Ethnic Minorities Less Likely To Take Coronavirus Vaccine….

[naomi24]

….according to polling for the Royal Society for Public Health. //The RSPH chief executive, Christina Marriott, said the results of the polling were highly concerning but unsurprising. “We have known for years that different communities have different levels of satisfaction in the NHS and more recently we have seen anti-vaccination messages have been specifically targeted at different groups, including different ethnic or religious communities … But these are exactly the groups which have suffered most through Covid….They continue to be most at risk of getting ill and most at risk of dying. So the government, the NHS and local public health must rapidly and proactively work with these communities.”//

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/16/people-from-ethnic-minorities-less-likely-to-accept-covid-vaccine-says-poll

They're not only putting themselves at risk but others too. Can they be convinced - and if so, how?

[pixie374]

Emmie, I'm not sure entirely how it works. As far as I know, so far, the vaccine minimises the risks to those contracting covid. But they still can get it and can still pass it on.
Willing (hopefully) to be shown I'm wrong, but I haven't seen that yet.

[ichkeria]

Yes there’s as yet no evidence that the vaccines prevent transmission.
We’ve been through all this before.

[New Judge]

//57% of 208 people said they wouldn't take it but 35% of those said they might change their minds. 35% of 104 makes about 36 people of ethnic origin that wont take it. Why are you even discussing it?//

Because it's a survey. Surveyors cannot poll the entire population and so the results will always need careful handling. But provided the survey is conducted properly and there is no bias in the selection of those chose to give their views it should provide a pointer.

You don't actually need to go to the trouble of arranging a formal survey to discover that many ethnic minority people are against vaccination. It certainly doesn't help the country get over the pandemic because the surest way to fight it is to ensure as many people as possible are immune to it. Far more effective than closing the pubs and restaurants and a lot less costly to the economy. But if somebody is entrenched in their views on cultural or religious grounds no amount of "education" will change their minds. Any money spent in efforts trying to do so would be better spent immunising those people who want to take the vaccine.

[pixie374]

Thanks, ich.

[emmie]

NJ< i agree.

[ichkeria]

It’s still advisable for ad many to have it as possible because although it primarily protects only the recipient, overall, if there are fewer ill people walking around then it ought to spread less
easily. It it’s already a problem that the virus is spread asymptomatically or before the symptoms become evident.

[pixie374]

Yes.

[chelle7272]

Not all are 'entrenched'. We had a lot of success at work encouraging uptake of MMR vaccines within ethnic minority communities.
the more people who have it the safer it potentially is for everyone.

[ichkeria]

Unfortunately though from what we can tell at the moment though, suppose I get vaccinated but catch the virus. It might not make me ill, but I can still have bits of it in my nose and if I sneeze on an unvaccinated person for example ...
Getting back to the question of have thought the message ought to apply to people of all races and backgrounds easily. If you can’t identify a reason, then it’s hard to tailor your response

[naomi24]

Superstition accounts for much of it, Ich.

[drmorgans]

Or lack of trust in the authorities, which might be justified.

[emmie]

why should one have mistrust in the authorities...?

[ichkeria]

Unfortunately it’s very hard to convince conspiracy theorists or those who lap them up. Or superstitious folk of any colour.
Ultimately they are putting themselves at risk regardless

[drmorgans]

The Windrush scandal, Stop and Search, institutionalised racism?

[ichkeria]

You see a lot of mistrust if authority here for example. It’s not just ethnic minorities tho it may be worse there I don’t know.

[emmie]

as i don;t know where here is its hard to say ick.

[emmie]

so people don't trust the doctors, hospitals who are trying to help..

[TrevorThePug]

As said above, its not very representative - 95% of respondents identified as white.

Its a useful tool and publication to reach out to the most vulnerable. Good on them for raising the point in order to get better messaging from the NHS to the poor and to ethnic groups.

[naomi24]

There is considerable mistrust of the authorities.

[Apc2604]

//There was a black woman on BBC this morning who said that she was protected by God and couldn't catch any disease! //

And another young male of ethnic minority who won't have it because it contains a microchip to spy on us. When asked how he knew this it was because he read it on one of the popular social media sites.