Among all medical procedures, vaccination stands at the forefront of lives saved and disabling illnesses prevented. The first vaccine is believed to date back to 10th-century China, with pioneers like Edward Jenner, whose work is widely regarded as the foundation of immunology, and Louis Pasteur, the 19th-century father of modern microbiology. Their guiding principles were revolutionary and contributed to what has become a pivotal tool in combating the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a series of colossal blunders, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is relying on vaccines to finally control the deadly virus that has, to date, cost more than 120,000 lives in the UK. Despite its tactless presentation as a global race at the expense of other countries, the initial success of the UK roll-out has been staggering, with more than 15 million of the most vulnerable people receiving their jabs as part of the biggest inoculation programme the country has ever launched.
Johnson has, uncharacteristically, resisted gloating and triumphalism over what he described as “an unprecedented national achievement” while he issued a caution, warning that it was “no moment to relax” and was only the first step in the roll-out. Prematurely, though, the PM has said that he wants the current third lockdown to be the last, and unable to resist a populist habit, he insisted he wants his planned relaxation of restrictions to be “irreversible.” Health Secretary Matt Hancock has called for a “sustainable exit.”
It is a significant milestone that could prove crucial in the fight against the disease. From the outset, Johnson has insisted that everyone plays a role, and he is right. However, it should not be used to blame others when ill-thought-out policies have failed. With multi-billion-pound contracts handed out to private companies, some allegedly to Tory friends and donors, there has been scepticism that there have been other agendas too. However, it has been too easy to scapegoat, especially ethnic minorities, particularly Muslims, often in scare stories when the reverse has been true.
While fake news has indeed deterred some ethnic and Muslim minorities from taking the vaccine, the main culprit is the government’s failure to reach these communities. There has not only been a shortage of vaccines in deprived areas, but the government has also failed to roll out the vaccines effectively.
In areas where local initiatives exist, like the Al-Hikmah Centre in Batley, which Johnson visited weeks after it was established, Muslims in the area flocked to the centre for vaccination, vindicating the argument that vaccines should be taken to such places. There is no point in the NHS texting people to attend vaccine hubs they can’t reach due to vast distances, and many people in deprived areas don’t have WhatsApp.
Only now, after hundreds of people from BAME communities have died of COVID-19 infections, are the Tories waking up. The government has rejected pleas to include people from BAME communities to be prioritised for vaccination. According to various data, infection and mortality rates are higher in the BAME communities than in the white communities, and still, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has excluded ethnic minorities from their priority list. They are not even mentioned on the list.
The government should support more localised vaccination hubs and consider sending mobile hubs to reach deprived areas where high percentages of BAME communities live. Regardless of the mixed messages, the Prime Minister went out of his way to praise Muslims during a visit to the Al-Hikmah Centre in Batley, one of several mosques to turn their premises into pop-up clinics as part of the vaccination programme. The staff were working to “dispel some of the nonsense about vaccines.” Instead, they were “spreading a sense of positivity about the vaccine,” and Johnson added, “I think that’s what we want to see, and I think that’s working.”
Disinformation throughout the pandemic has been systemic, thanks largely to the anti-vaxxer movement, which has exploited legitimate concerns about inoculations being developed and approved so quickly for emergency use. However, this should be separated from the general disruptive campaign, some of which may have political agendas based on falsehoods. Sections of ethnic minorities, including Muslims and the rest of the population, need their concerns addressed, but the two should not be grouped for other purposes.
There was great news this month from an independent regulator that confirmed the safety of the two main COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford University/AstraZeneca) being used in the UK. Both vaccines met the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s strict standards, which ruled that most side effects were “mild and short-lasting, reflecting a normal immune response to vaccines, including a sore arm and fatigue.”
The World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization has also issued interim recommendations for the use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for everyone.
The UK, indeed, the world, is at an important juncture in combating the coronavirus, largely based on the success of the vaccines. If everyone is in it together, Johnson’s government must also realise how vital its role is in ensuring the opportunity is maximised and not squandered by its previous inept performances.
Johnson has insisted that he has done everything he can to minimise the fallout in the country, which is virtually the worst in the world. He must ensure that this is the case if the scourge of COVID-19 is ever purged.
