‘Grab-a-jab’ initiative boosts ethnic minority vaccinations

The Covid vaccination programme has protected more than 700,000 people from ethnic minority backgrounds since rolling out the grab-a-jab campaign.

An analysis of one grab-a-jab weekend in July found that two in five of the 80,000 walk-in doses administered were to people from ethnic minority groups, significantly more than the proportion in the wider community.

The fastest growth in vaccinations was from people of mixed Asian and white backgrounds between 20 June and 22 August, with numbers growing by a quarter from 81,000 to 101,000, closely followed by mixed white and Black African groups.

There was also a significant increase in people from Black communities getting the jab with 142,000 people receiving their first dose of the life-saving vaccine. More than three in five of those were Black African, with the number of people getting a first dose increasing by 20.9 per cent.

Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS medical director of primary care and deputy lead for the vaccination programme, said: “Increasing vaccine confidence has been at the heart of the NHS rollout and staff who know and care for their local communities are continuing to go above and beyond to set up sites that meet their patients’ needs.

“This hard work is paying off and we are protecting people that were previously reluctant to get the vaccine, building on work we have already done, such as tackling misinformation online, translating materials into more than 20 languages and working with faith and community leaders to promote the vaccine’s safety.

“The vaccine is safe, effective and could save your life, and if you have any lingering questions or concerns, please come forward and speak to a trusted healthcare professional.”

The NHS outlined its action plan to tackle vaccine hesitancy in February, which included tackling misinformation online with social media firms, translating materials into more than 20 languages, and working with faith and community leaders to promote the vaccine’s safety.

The NHS also committed early on to publishing a regular breakdown of stats among ethnic groups and worked with local systems to make the vaccine as accessible as possible such as through pop-up clinics in places of worship and extended opening hours during Ramadan for 'Twilight' clinics.