A Manchester MP will be hosting a webinar aimed at dispelling the myths around the Covid vaccine.
Gorton MP Afzal Khan will be hosting the session on Thursday February 25 and will be joined by health experts and faith leaders.
The webinar comes after the low uptake of the Covid vaccine among BAME groups, with medical experts warning about the dangers of disinformation when the virus already has a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities.
Speakers at the webinar include experts from the NHS Race and Health observatory, Dr James Nazroo, from the University of Manchester and Yvonne Coghill, NHS race advisor.
Faith leaders will also be speaking to help encourage communities to take the vaccine, Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Charles Kwaku-Odio, from the Caribbean and African Health Network and Dr Wajid Akhter from the Muslim Council of Britain will be present.
Last month the M.E.N reported that new Covid-19 vaccination centres, like the one in Whalley Range were seeing a low turnout for residents eligible for the AstraZeneca jab.
Afzal Khan recently led a cross-party initiative, which saw MPs from South Asian backgrounds coming together for a video to help drive vaccine uptake within the South Asian community.
The MP said: “I am deeply concerned over the low vaccine uptake within BAME communities. The disinformation which is spreading is patently wrong, misleading and designed to frighten people.
“Myths around the vaccine containing pork for instance have undermined the confidence among Muslim and Jewish communities, and this is simply unacceptable.
“I had the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine just last week and I encourage everyone to take the vaccine when it’s their turn”.
The webinar will also be looking at the latest survey by The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) which aims to document the impact of Covid-19 and the lockdowns, on the lives of 17,000 ethnic and religious minority people.
The Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Zara Mohammed, stresses: “Our foremost concern is to ensure the protection of lives and so our duty is to challenge the misinformation around vaccination. We are working to ensure our communities get the correct information with the help of medical experts and local communities.”
Professor James Nazroo, University of Manchester said: “It is vital that as the vaccine rollout progresses, we carefully monitor uptake rates across ethnic and religious minority groups and use this information to develop and adapt strategies to address inequality in access to the vaccine.”
The webinar will be attended by Parliamentarians, community members and faith groups.
You can register to join the event here.
