The Boris Johnson government on Tuesday reiterated its call for people of Indian, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and other racial backgrounds to volunteer for ongoing vaccine trials, including those at the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca.
The non-white community has been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the government to launch an investigation. The community is currently underrepresented in six vaccine clinical trials taking place in the UK.
Officials said that of the 270,000 people who had signed up to the NHS Vaccine Registry (launched in July), only 11,000 volunteers are of Asian and British descent, and only 1,200 are Black, African, Caribbean or British Black.
Thousands of people of different ages and backgrounds are urgently needed to help accelerate their development and ensure that they work effectively for the entire population, the officials added.
Trade Secretary Alok Sharma said: “The coronavirus can affect anyone regardless of origin, age or race. To make sure we can find a safe and effective vaccine that works for everyone, we all need to participate. “
“That is why we are urging more people to support our amazing scientists and join the 270,000 people who have already signed up so that we can accelerate efforts to find a vaccine that will defeat this virus once and for all.” added.
Maheshi Ramasamy, Consultant in Infectious Diseases and Acute General Medicine and Principal Investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group, added: “We know that people of black, Asian and ethnic minority origin are disproportionately affected by Covid in terms of severe illness and mortality. “.
“So when we have a vaccine that we roll out to the general population, it’s really important that we can show people in these communities that we have evidence that the vaccine works.”
The UK government established a Vaccine Task Force in May to ensure rapid access to clinically effective and safe vaccines, while working with partners to support international access.
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