Hounslow Councillors Issue Appeal To Borough's Diverse Communities

Their message is that the jab is safe and effective

Cllr Bishnu Gurung appearing in the video

Hounslow councillors have joined together once again to send a message to their diverse communities during the coronavirus pandemic.

The borough representatives released a five-minute video encouraging residents to accept the Covid vaccine when it is offered to them, and dispelling myths over the jab shared on social media.

Hanif Khan, who is the cabinet member for transport and One Hounslow, coordinated the call, with some councillors relaying their views in different languages.

This is the second video released by councillors during the pandemic, the first being a heartfelt message to Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities when it was first discovered ethnic minorities were being disproportionately affected by the virus.

In a Hounslow Council health and wellbeing board meeting on February 2, a presentation from its public health team showed a “strong positive correlation” of wards with higher proportions of people from ethnic minority backgrounds also having higher proportions of positive Covid cases.

It adds that while Hounslow has a 52 per cent BAME population and a 48 per cent white population, according to an Office of National Statistics annual population survey from 2018, the proportion of positive cases are 55 per cent BAME people, 29 per cent white people and 16 per cent unknown.

And since the vaccine roll-out has begun, there have been concerns nationally of lower uptake of the jab from people of ethnic minority backgrounds.

In the latest Youtube video, Cllr Khan said: “You may have heard from the media that some people don’t want to take the Covid-19 vaccine, in our opinion and the opinion of the NHS it is not a sensible thing to do, and I strongly recommend that you take it.

“I am from the BAME community and I will be taking it when offered, and my family will do as well.”

Cllr Harleen Atwal shared her experience of getting the Pfizer vaccine at her GP surgery, due to her medical condition of multiple sclerosis.

According to the updates from Hounslow’s public health team, health partners have carried out more than 22,000 vaccinations since 15 December.

And over the last few days across primary care sites they have been giving out 2,000 vaccines per day on average.

The council’s team also shared how they were trying to work with communities to tackle vaccine hesitancy, such as running a focus group for Black men in January, with another scheduled for this week.

In the councillors’ Youtube video, others such as cllr Nisar Malik compared the vaccine to being similar to receiving a jab for Polio as a child, adding, “Right now it’s a requirement for your families, for you to protect yourself.”

And Cllr Bandna Chopra used her voice to address fake news circulating around the jab.

“There’s a lot of misinformation out there about the vaccine,” she said.

“That it contains a microchip and that it’s not suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Can I assure you it has no microchip within it, and it is totally safe for those people who are vegan or vegetarian.”

Cllr Raghwinder Siddhu added: “I kindly request you do not take any notice of such rumours.”

Anahita Hossein-Pour - Local Democracy Reporter

February 3, 2021