Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minority groups

With mass covid-19 vaccination efforts under way in many countries, including the UK, we need to understand and redress the disparities in its uptake. Data to 14 February 2021 show that over 90% of adults in Britain have received or would be likely to accept the covid-19 vaccine if offered. 1 However, surveys have indicated much greater vaccine hesitancy among people from some ethnic minorities. 2 -4 In a UK survey in December 2020, vaccine hesitancy was highest among black (odds ratio 12.96, 95% confidence interval 7.34 to 22.89), Bangladeshi, and Pakistani (both 2.31, 1.55 to 3.44) populations compared with people from a white ethnic background. en more worryingly, data up to 15 January 2021 show substantially lower rates of covid-19 vaccinations among over 80s in ethnic minority (white people 42.5%, black people 20.5%) and deprived communities (least deprived 44.7%, most deprived 37.9%) in England. Similarly, data from an NHS trust show lower covid-19 vaccination rates among ethnic minority healthcare workers (70.9% in white workers v 58.5% in South Asian and 36.8% in black workers; P<0.001 for both).