The UK’s "colour blind" vaccination policy is putting ethnic minority communities at risk, a group of doctors have said.
Experts say the immunisation programme, which uses age and existing conditions to establish priority groups, should recognise ethnic minorities as a vulnerable group.
The current policy disregards the disproportionate effect of the pandemic on black, Asian and minority ethnic groups, researchers said in an article published by the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine on Wednesday.
"Dismissing the racial and socio-economic disadvantages that ethnic groups face may result in a devastating impact lasting far beyond the end of the pandemic," lead author Prof Azeem Majeed said.
"Controlling further outbreaks and ultimately ending the pandemic will require implementation of approaches that target ethnic minorities, as well as ensure vaccine allocation strategies are effective, fair and justifiable for all.
"If insufficient numbers of individuals from [ethnic minority] communities are vaccinated, the virus will continue to spread amongst these groups, putting the general population at risk."
A report from August last year highlighted the risk factors for minority groups, showing that 34 per cent of all patients who were critically ill with the virus were ethnic minorities.
It also found that 14 per cent of essential workers were ethnic minorities, and that people from these groups were more likely to live in densely populated cities and in smaller living spaces.
“Prioritising essential workers for vaccination will preserve the healthcare system, accelerate the reopening of society, help revive the economy and enable the operation of essential community services," Prof Majeed said.
The authors say that ineffective vaccine allocation is likely to play a role in the high levels of vaccine hesitancy identified in ethnic minority communities.
A study based on medical records released last month found that people in their 70s who belonged to ethnic minority groups had a much lower rate of vaccination than white people of the same ages.
Of those eligible to receive the vaccine, about 86 per cent of white people have been vaccinated, while only 55 per cent of black people, 68 per cent of people with mixed heritage and 73 per cent of those from South Asian backgrounds had received the vaccine.
