THE government’s refusal to prioritise minority ethnic groups for Covid-19 vaccines has put them at significantly higher risk of illness and death from the virus, doctors have warned.
In a report published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine today, three public-health doctors assert that Britain’s “colour-blind” vaccination programme “disregards the unequal impact of the pandemic on minority ethnic groups.”
Vaccine advisers have rejected calls to prioritise such groups for the jab despite evidence that they are at higher risk of illness and death from Covid-19.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation (JCVI) has recommended an age-based approach instead, but the report warns that current plans could have devastating consequences for black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities and exacerbate existing health inequalities.
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Unions want poilce officers to be prioritised for the vaccine (Image: Jacob King/PA Wire)
Police federation bosses are threatening legal action over the government s decision not to give vaccine priority to officers.
The Greater Manchester Police Federation says 11.8 per cent of the workforce has tested positive for Covid-19 during the pandemic, compared with 6 per cent of the general UK population.
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