Following discussions with the NHS and other partners in Camden, we decided to explore vaccine hesitancy views locally and used what we found to support residents to arrive at an informed view about COVID-19 vaccination. In February, we worked with three local community organisations to survey 223 people about their views on the COVID-19 vaccine and the local rollout. Nearly all responders (97%) were from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic backgrounds.
- We learned that the more knowledge someone felt they had about the vaccine, the greater the likelihood of them wanting to be vaccinated.
- People receive most of the information about the vaccine from television and Social Media.
- Younger people and people from Black or Black British backgrounds were less likely to get the vaccine, which is consistent with existing national evidence on this topic.
Our analysis shows that it is essential that the views of Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities ?evidenced in this report – are understood by the NHS and its partners. There appears to be an opportunity to increase COVID-19 vaccine uptake among young people and Black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities – nearly one-third of survey responders who did not want the vaccine said they would reconsider their decision if they had more information.
We urge North Central London CCG, Camden Council and Public Health teams to consider the future steps of action suggested in this report to reach out to those who are hesitant in taking the COVID-19 vaccine.
Further conversations-
We hosted Professor Sir Michael Marmot on 11 May from 6 pm to 7 pm. He spoke on the public health and health inequalities in Camden. Click here to watch the recording of the event.