minority groups are less likely to have received the vaccine
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed that British South Asians in England have a lower Covid-19 vaccination rate.
This is compared to White British people living in England.
People from ethnic minorities are more likely to test positive for Covid-19 compared to White ethnic groups.
Covid-19 death rates are also higher for most ethnic groups, like British South Asians.
This is because they are more likely to be living with other generations of the family under the same roof. They are also more likely to be in jobs that have more exposure to the virus.
However, it does not completely explain the disparity.
Despite the higher risk, adults from ethnic minority groups are less likely to have received the vaccine and are more likely to report vaccine hesitancy.
Vaccine hesitancy refers to those who have either declined a Covid-19 vaccine offer, report being unlikely to accept a vaccine or report being undecided.
ONS has now revealed the vaccination rates of adults aged 70 and over.
The figures were based on the first dose of a vaccine administered between December 8, 2020, and March 11, 2021, for residents in England who could be linked to the 2011 Census and General Practice Extraction Service Data for Pandemic Planning and Research.
Self-reported ethnic group is derived from the 2011 Census.
It revealed that the lowest vaccination rates were observed among people who identified as Black African at 58.8% and Black Caribbean (68.7%).
But for British South Asians, the average vaccination rate stood at 77.6%.
When broken down among ethnic groups, 72.7% of Bangladeshi-origin people had been vaccinated while Pakistani-origin people was slightly higher (74%).
The vaccination rate among people from an Indian background was high, standing at 86.2%.
However, the vaccination rates for British South Asians was lower than that of the White British group, which was 91.3%.
The ethnic group labelled ‘Other’ encompassed Asian other, Black other, Arab and Other ethnic group categories.
These figures highlight that British South Asians in England who aged 70 and over are less likely to have received the Covid-19 vaccine.
Again, the statistics revealed that Black African and Black Caribbean ethnic groups were the least likely to receive the vaccine compared to White British.
The fully adjusted regression model takes into account gender, region, care home residency, urban or rural area, IMD quintiles (deprivation), educational attainment, self-reported disability, BMI categories and a range of underlying health conditions.
When it comes to British South Asian ethnic groups, Bangladeshi people were more than three times more likely not to be vaccinated, nearly four times greater when fully adjusted.
The odds of Pakistani people not being vaccinated was three times greater.
Statistics revealed that the differences between these two groups and White British people were more pronounced among those living in deprived areas than among those living in wealthier areas.
For Indians, the odds were almost the same rate as White British but when fully adjusted, it was nearly two times greater.
The lower vaccination rate may be due to the rumours about the vaccine, such as them containing meat products, therefore making British South Asians more hesitant.
Although British South Asian doctors and celebrities have urged their community to have the vaccine, rates are still not high enough.
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