Jersey government accused of 'institutional racism' over lack of vaccine uptake data for ethnic minority groups
Jersey's government has been accused of 'institutional racism' over its failure to gather data on the uptake of the coronavirus vaccine among ethnic minority groups in the island.
Following a Freedom of Information request, ITV News has learned that the government has not gathered data on the ethnicity of those who have been vaccinated.
However, the newly formed NHS Race and Health observatory says the government needs tocatch up.
Jersey's government says gathering specific data data is 'complex' and it has no specific concerns that people in the island are avoiding getting their vaccines.
Jersey's government says its has frequent meetings with different community sector groups and will continue to report an accurate analysis of the Vaccination Programme twice weekly.
There has been concern in the UK that there has been hesitancy among ethnic minority groups in taking up the vaccine.
Figures from the the UK government in 2020 found that people of black and Asian ethnicity had between 10-50% higher risk of dying from Covid-19.
It has led to a new campaign, fronted by comedian Lenny Henry, encouraging black Britons to take up the vaccine when offered it.
In Guernsey, data is gathered on ethnicity in vaccinations through a tick box on forms, but the States says it does not yet have enough information to publish.