Why there's vaccine scepticism in the BAME community

Advisers from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) have raised concerns over Covid vaccine uptake amongst the BAME community.

A survey conducted by the UK Household Longitudinal Study, which conducts annual interviews to gain a long-term perspective on British people’s lives found that 72% of black Britons are 'unlikely' to get the coronavirus jab.

SAGE has blamed 'structural and institutional racism and discrimination' for vaccine scepticism among BAME communities. 

Tru Powell is black and is the owner of Birmingham based Kandy Girl Spa UK and a dad of four, he said: "I am 50/50 about whether I will have the vaccine. I know it's the right thing to do to protect myself and others as I am not an anti-vaxxer, but I have serious concerns about the safety of the vaccine - what are the possible side effects?"

Powell said on today's GMB: "How do we know this vaccine isn't yet another blunder from the government in a long list of blunders.

"There's so much to say about the vaccine. It's so new, people are worried, people don't know if there's going to be long-term effects and there isn't enough data to support certain areas."

Labour councillor and former nurse Paulette Hamilton told Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard that the BAME community were 'disproportionately affected by the virus in the first place.'She says the community want questions answered.

Alex Beresford said that he would like to see people of colour talking about the vaccination and even see people in the BAME community taking the vaccine.

"There's a lack of trust in the government," he said. "There's a lack of representation in terms of the trials in the vaccine."