A latest study co-authored by Professor Kamlesh Khunti has revealed that lower proportions of black and Asian staff at a hospital trust have come forward to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
According to the study 70.9 per cent of white staff at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust had received the jab, compared with 58.5 per cent of South Asian staff and 36.8 per cent of black staff. The study was conducted during 9 December to 3 February and called for urgent action to prevent the disparities caused by the pandemic from being allowed to widen further. The trust, where 36 per cent of staff are from minority ethnic backgrounds, has been running vaccination hubs for staff at each of its three hospital sites.
The report said that 12,278 staff from a total of 19,044 had come forward to have a jab since it was offered in mid-December.The analysis further revealed much lower take-up among Pakistani and Bangladeshi healthcare staff (43.2 per cent) than the Indian cohort (60.3 per cent), the BBC reported. The study also noted a lower take-up among staff under 30.
Staff in this age range made up 18.7 per cent of the vaccinated group compared with 31.7 per cent in the group who had not come forward for a jab.
“These findings give significant cause for concern, as ethnic minority groups (especially those working in healthcare) are at higher risk of infection with coronavirus and adverse outcome from Covid-19, yet are not taking up this critical preventative intervention,” the report said.
