Researchers are calling on more people from BAME backgrounds and the over 65s to volunteer for clinical studies through the NHS Vaccine Registry to ensure potential candidates work for all.
Currently, ethnic minorities are under-represented in vaccine clinical trials taking place across the UK. Of the 270,000 people who have already signed up to the NHS Registry, only 11,000 volunteers are from Asian and British Asian backgrounds, and just 1,200 are Black, African, Caribbean or Black British. This is in contrast to 93% people from non-ethnic minority groups that have already signed up.
Large-scale clinical studies with a diverse pool of volunteers will help researchers better understand the effectiveness of each vaccine candidate. With six different Covid-19 vaccines currently progressing in the UK, including the University of Oxford/Astrazeneca and US biotech company Novavax candidates, thousands of people from different ages and backgrounds are urgently needed to help speed up their development and ensure they work effectively for the whole population.
This includes people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities who are disproportionately affected by Covid-19. According to Public Health England, people from Black backgrounds are statistically more likely to be diagnosed with Covid-19, while death rates are higher for Black and Asian ethnic groups.
In addition, other vulnerable groups such as people with chronic diseases or over the age of 65 years are needed to take part in trials and also being urged to volunteer for clinical trials.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma said, “Coronavirus can affect anyone regardless of their background, age or race. To ensure we can find a safe and effective vaccine that works for everyone, we all need to get involved.
“That’s why we are urging more people to support our incredible scientists and join the 270,000 people who have already signed-up so we can speed up efforts to find a vaccine to defeat this virus once and for all.”
Dr Maheshi Ramasamy, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Acute General Medicine and Principal Investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group said, “We know that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are disproportionately affected by Covid in terms of severe disease and mortality. So, when we do have a vaccine that we roll out to the general population, it's really important that we can demonstrate to people from these communities that we have evidence that the vaccine works.”
More on www.nhs.uk/researchcontact.
