Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities could get prioritisation for a Covid vaccine, the independent body in charge of its delivery has suggested.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said that while age was the overwhelming risk factor for the disease, it was “really, really important” to take into account racial disparities and associated health inequalities.
Prof Lim said that BAME communities would benefit not just from being put on the priority list but also from a tailored roll-out of the vaccination programme with local leaders best able to help encourage take-up.
His comments come after questions were raised about why people from BAME backgrounds are not mentioned in the government’s priority list for a vaccine – despite the health secretary saying they could be among “the first” way back in June.
“[The question] About prioritisation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, that’s really, really important,” Lim said.
“We know that there has been a disproportionate representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups for severe Covid disease, and the underlying factors behind that association are complex, and they are multiple.”
Lim’s remarks came at the first of a series of regular scientific briefings organised by Downing Street to update the public on progress in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam and Dr June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, stressed that the accelerated programme for approval of any vaccine would not put safety at risk.
Normal approval systems can take many years but the UK government along with other countries has decided to speed up its systems to allow the possible go-ahead of a vaccine within months.
A Pfizer vaccine was this week shown to have 90% effectiveness, and other rival vaccines such as one developed by AstraZeneca with Oxford University, are expected to report trial results soon.
Van-Tam, who revealed he was willing to work some evenings and weekends to administer the jab to patients, said that the system had to focus on getting pensioners ready to receive it.
Lim said that the first phase of the vaccination scheme was designed to protect “over 99%” of those most at risk of dying from the virus, with care home residents and staff first in line, followed by those over 60.
But he also said that adults with an underlying health condition would then be prioritised before over-50s were vaccinated in the first phase of the programme. Younger people and possibly those at risk of long-Covid would get the vaccine in its next stage.
Asked directly about BAME groups, Lim said their risk factors were extensive and varied and “include social factors and societal factors”.
“Some of which for example are occupations. We know there are more Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups represented in health care, and in social care, for instance.
“There are differences in the amount of health conditions that some groups have, there are differences in terms of how big households are, whether they’re multi-generational households or not, there are differences in access to health care.
“Lots of these social and societal factors also describe health inequalities. And one of the opportunities we should take with this vaccination programme is to try and mitigate these health inequalities.
“That’s done, not simply by prioritisation, but by tailoring our implementation in such a way that every patient group or people who are able to have access to vaccines to their best advantage.”
Lim went on to say that local BAME community leaders would play a key role.
“That may mean, we have a special implementation programme delivered by local community leaders who understand your communities, can engage communities, can communicate in the correct way.
“And make sure that nobody has poor access to vaccines, perhaps by having flexible modes of delivery. But all of these processes in terms of implementation help reduce health inequalities which is by far, the real important point that has been raised by the Covid pandemic.”