The NHS will go back to Londoners who initially declined the vaccine to encourage them to rethink their decision. These assurances came from Joint Chief Nurse for NHS England, Martin Machray, in response to questions on tackling vaccine hesitancy posed by local London Assembly Member, Joanne McCartney AM, at Thursday’s (4th Feb) City Hall Plenary meeting.
Ms McCartney also asked for an update on whether CCGs across the capital are keeping consistent records of where doses have been refused, following the announcement last week that the NHS will now collect vaccine uptake data by ethnicity. Mr Machray said that it was “frustrating” that more robust data collection was not in place at the start of the vaccine rollout, but processes are now improving day-by-day.
YouGov polling from November indicated that around 67-70% of Britons are willing to have the vaccine. The majority of those who said they were unwilling, reasoned that they want to wait to see if it was safe, rather than confirming that they would never take it. Today, the UK’s medicines regulator confirmed that severe reactions to the Pfizer and Oxford-Astra Zeneca vaccines are very rare.
Studies show that vaccine hesitancy is disproportionately marked amongst those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. A poll commissioned by the Royal Society for Public Health in December, found that only 57% of respondents from BAME backgrounds were likely to accept the vaccine, compared to 79% of white respondents.
Last week, Haringey was one of seven London boroughs to receive a share of the Government’s COVID-19 Community Champions Fund to tackle vaccine hesitancy, being given almost £300,000. Enfield missed out on this round of allocations and now Ms McCartney is joining calls for further funding to be made available to cover all London boroughs.
Local London Assembly Member for Enfield & Haringey, Joanne McCartney AM, said:
“Vaccine hesitancy is one of the biggest obstacles in our way of getting ahead of the virus and containing the spread.
“I am encouraged by Martin Machray’s assurances that the NHS will be proactively following up on Londoners who initially refused the vaccine to give them the opportunity to reconsider their decision.
“Going forward, this will be especially important as trust towards the vaccine continues to grow- and we have just had further confirmation that severe side-effects are very rare.
“It is also positive to see that the Government have recognised the vital role local authorities can play in building confidence around getting the vaccine in their communities, through the new COVID-19 Community Champions Fund. It is crucial that further rounds of this funding are urgently forthcoming, so other London boroughs, such as Enfield, can benefit”.
Notes to editors
- The latest London Assembly Plenary meeting, which took place on Thursday 4th February 2021, can be watched back here;
- Last week, the NHS announced that it will now record vaccine uptake data by ethnicity;
- The YouGov survey, published in November, on the public’s willingness to get the vaccine can be found here;
- The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) survey published in December. showing that people from BAME communities are less likely to take up the vaccine, can be found here;
- More information about the Government’s COVID-19 Community Champions Fund, including a list of borough-by-borough allocations, can be found here;
- Joanne McCartney AM is the London Assembly Member for Enfield and Haringey.