HEALTH leaders at Warrington have joined in a major drive to persuade ethnic communities feel safe about the Covid-19 vaccine.
This follows a study by Cheshire and Merseyside Health Partnerships which showed that more than half of people from ethnic minority communities felt they were more at risk from the virus but that 42 percent still feared potential side-effects and the risk of catching the virus through leaving home to get the vaccine.
Even among NHS workers, 24 percent were non-acceptors of the vaccine
Using insight from local research, representatives from ethnic communities will address questions about the vaccine in a series of radio adverts, posters and social media adverts planned across the local area.
Clare Watson, accountable officer for Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Groups with senior responsibility for the vaccine rollout programme across Warrington, Cheshire and Halton said: “In our area we have some ethnically diverse communities which all adds to the rich picture of our county. We have been working closely with our Race Equality Council, local authority and community and voluntary sector partners to spread the vaccine and not the virus amongst the most marginalised and hesitant groups.
“Community leaders, who residents know and trust, have been working hard to have conversations and provide translated accessible material to make sure that when it’s their turn, people are willing and ready to receive the vaccine, which is so vital to recovery.”
Researchers surveyed people across the region from ethnic communities to develop an in-depth understanding of their experiences of COVID-19 and their views towards the vaccination.
It found that concerns about efficacy and fear of potential side effects are among the top reasons why a third of minority ethnic communities in Cheshire and Merseyside are reluctant to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
Although overall uptake of the vaccine amongst the first four priority groups is now just under 90 percent, the uptake in Cheshire is 73 percent amongst ethnic minority communities, which is a concern, given the fact that these communities are being disproportionately affected by the virus.
Director of Public Health at Warrington Borough Council, Thara Raj, said: “It is clear from scientific evidence that the vaccine is safe. The NHS would not offer any COVID-19 vaccinations to the public until it was safe to do so and the evidence is that the vaccine is effective.
“It is more important than ever that we reassure people. We are already starting to use the data from the research to tailor our approaches to address the concerns of different groups and meet their needs including a targeted campaign which we will launch across Warrington.”
