Munira has joined MPs with South Asian heritage from across political parties to urge Britain’s South Asian communities to get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Coronavirus has had a disproportionate impact on the UK’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. Official statistics show Black and South Asian people are twice as likely to die from coronavirus as white people.
In spite of the risk Covid-19 poses to South Asian communities, recent surveys have predicted there will be low take-up of the vaccine among these communities. A recent poll, commissioned by the Royal Society of Public Health, suggested just under half of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people would refuse the vaccine. This low take-up is, in part, a result of the significant misinformation being spread among South Asians about the vaccine. Unfortunately, some of the misinformation being spread is religiously targeted with messages falsely claiming the vaccines contain animal products.
Inspired by last week’s video from Black MPs from parties across Parliament, this video is intended to counter the misinformation among South Asian communities regarding the vaccine. As leaders in their communities, MPs in this video hope it will reassure all British South Asians feel safe and confident to get the Covid-19 vaccine when they are called to do so.
Munira said:
“I am pleased to join my colleagues from across Parliament to encourage members of South Asian communities to get the vaccine. It is so important that misinformation does not deter our communities from getting vaccinated.
The vaccination is safe and might save your life. It is a necessary step to getting life back to normal, and needs to be used with an effective Test, Trace, and Isolate system in order to get on top of this virus.”