Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Doctors urge black and south Asians in UK to get Covid jabs

Doctors urge black and south Asians in UK to get Covid jabs

Black and south Asian people in the UK urged to get jabs to cut higher Covid death rates

DOCTORS have urged unvaccinated black and south Asian people to get their Covid jabs as new data revealed that hospitalisations and deaths are higher in those groups, reported The Guardian.


Infections were higher in many black and Asian groups during Britain’s first two waves of Covid but recently the pattern has shifted, with infections now more common among white people. However, their death rates remain relatively low.

The new data, published on Friday (3) in the final government report on understanding and tackling Covid-19 disparities, suggest that poor vaccine coverage is now a major reason for severe Covid in some black and Asian groups.

According to Dr Raghib Ali, the government’s independent adviser on Covid-19 and ethnicity, evidence gathered over the past year showed that higher death rates seen in ethnic minorities in the first two waves of the pandemic were primarily due to a higher risk of infection, particularly among older people.

Living in a densely populated area, working in public-facing roles such as health and social care, and living in larger and multigenerational households are said to be the major contributing factors for the higher death rate.

“In the third wave to date, a different pattern is emerging with infection rates in ethnic minorities now lower than in whites, but rates of hospital admissions and deaths are still higher, with the pattern now matching levels of vaccine uptake in older and other higher-risk groups,” Dr Ali, who wrote the report, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. “I’m confident this is being driven by vaccination rates.”

According to an Oxford University study, vaccine coverage has reached more than 90 per cent among white people, but is 20 percentage points lower among black groups, with coverage among south Asian people halfway between the two.

“Although vaccine uptake in all ethnic minorities has increased very significantly over the last year, the proportion unvaccinated is roughly twice as high in south Asian people and four times as high in Black people,” Ali told The Guardian.

The report has revealed that differences in infection rates in the first wave were largely driven by occupational risk, with black Africans and black Caribbeans in health and social care particularly exposed to the virus.

In the second wave, when many schools were open, Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups were at greater risk because they were more likely than others to live in multigenerational houses, where children brought the virus home to more vulnerable older relatives.

The report also highlighted obesity, diabetes and hypertension as risk factors for severe disease and death, and a gene that is nearly four times more common in south Asian people than Europeans, which doubles the risk of respiratory failure and death from Covid.

Neena Modi, professor of neonatal medicine at Imperial College London, told the newspaper that it was disappointing the report did not highlight the toll Covid has taken on pregnant women who make up a disproportionate number of the women in intensive care.

Last month, Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, urged pregnant women to get vaccinated, adding that almost all pregnant women admitted to hospital and intensive care were unvaccinated, the report added.

More For You

Norman Tebbit
Following Thatcher’s third general election victory in 1987, Tebbit stepped back from frontline politics to care for his wife. (Photo: Getty Images)

What was the Tebbit Test and why was it controversial?

LORD NORMAN TEBBIT, the former cabinet minister who introduced the controversial “cricket test” to question the loyalty of migrants, has died at the age of 94. The test, later known as the “Tebbit Test,” suggested that immigrants who supported cricket teams from their countries of origin instead of England were not fully integrated into British society. His death was confirmed on Monday by his son, William, who asked for privacy for the family.

Tebbit first spoke about the test in 1990 as a Conservative MP. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, “A large proportion of Britain's Asian population fail to pass the cricket test. Which side do they cheer for? It’s an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?”

Keep ReadingShow less
Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Air India crash probe finds fuel to engines was cut off before impact

Highlights

 
     
  • Fuel to both engines of the Air India flight was cut off seconds before the crash
  •  
  • A pilot was heard questioning the other over the cut-off; both denied initiating it.
  •  
  • The Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
  •  
  • Investigators are focusing on fuel switch movement; full analysis may take months.

FUEL control switches to both engines of the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position seconds before the crash, according to a preliminary investigation report released early Saturday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have consistently reported Chinese research vessel presence. (Representational image: Getty Images)

Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

A Chinese research vessel was detected operating in the Bay of Bengal near Indian waters while attempting to conceal its presence by disabling its Automatic Identification System (AIS), according to a report by The Economic Times, citing French maritime intelligence firm Unseenlabs.

The French company conducted a 16-day satellite-based survey tracking ships through radio frequency emissions. It monitored 1,897 vessels, with 9.6 per cent showing no AIS activity, indicating attempts to avoid detection. The survey raised concerns amid increased Chinese activity in the region.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian-inspired garden earns
five awards at Hampton Court

(From left) Malcolm Anderson (RHS, head of sustainability) Clare Matterson (RHS director general), Lorraine Bishton (Subaru UK and Ireland, managing director) Andrew Ball (director, Big Fish Landscapes) Mike McMahon and Jewlsy Mathews with the medals

Asian-inspired garden earns five awards at Hampton Court

BRITISH Asians are being encouraged to take up gardening by a couple who have won a record five medals at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

“It’s a contemporary reimagining of a traditional walled garden, highlighting the British and Irish rainforests,” said Jewlsy Mathews, who was born in Britain of parents from Kerala, a southern Indian state known for its lush vegetation.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England

iStock

England faces widespread heat alerts and hosepipe bans amid rising temperatures

Highlights:

  • Amber heat health alerts in place for large parts of England
  • Hosepipe bans announced in Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex
  • Temperatures could reach 33°C over the weekend
  • Health risks rise, especially for elderly and vulnerable groups

Heat warnings in effect as UK braces for another hot weekend

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England, with temperatures expected to climb to 33°C in some areas over the weekend. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) activated the warning at 12 pm on Friday, with it set to remain in place until 9 am on Monday.

The alerts cover the East Midlands, West Midlands, south-east, south-west, East of England, and London. Additional yellow alerts were issued for the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and the Humber, starting from midday Friday.

Keep ReadingShow less