World News | UK Agency: Vaccination Rates Lowest Among Older Black People

London, Mar 29 (AP) New figures from Britain's statistics agency showed Monday that older people from Black African backgrounds are more than seven times as likely as white Britons to have not received a coronavirus vaccine.

More than 30 million people in the U.K. — or about 57 per cent of all adults — have received a first vaccine dose. But significant concerns remain about lower vaccination uptakes and hesitancy to take the jab among some ethnic minority groups.

The Office for National Statistics said Monday that among people 70 years old or older, the lowest vaccination rates were seen among people identifying as Black African, at 58.8 per cent, and Black Caribbean, at 68.7 per cent.

The vaccination rate among Bangladeshis was 72.7 per cent and for Pakistanis it was 74 per cent.

That is markedly lower than the rate among white British people in the same age group, which stood at 91.3 per cent. The agency didn't provide an explanation of why there was such a difference.

Overall, 90 per cent of all residents in England in the age group have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The agency's statistical modelling found that the odds of people from Black African backgrounds not having had the coronavirus jab were 7.4 times greater than the odds for the white British group. It noted that the odds remained higher even after age, sex, social-demographic characteristics and underlying health conditions were accounted for.

Lawmaker Layla Moran, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group on the coronavirus, said the figures were “deeply alarming” because research has shown that many ethnic minorities face a higher risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.

Monday's figures also showed a markedly lower vaccination rate in the poorest areas.

It was the first time the statistics agency published analysis on vaccination rates in older people broken down by factors like age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)