Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has demanded that the ‘minorities’ in London should first get vaccinated. Khan has demanded the Black, Asian, Minority, Ethnic groups (BAME groups) in London to be given priority in the distribution of the vaccine. In a video shared by Khan on Twitter on November 17, he claimed, speaking to BBC Radio London, that the BAME groups were disproportionately affected by the virus.
The positive news around COVID19 vaccine development is hugely encouraging.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 17, 2020
But there is still some way to go, and it’s vital that when we have a vaccine that is approved for use that the most vulnerable members of our society are first to benefit.pic.twitter.com/hUQ0vwhNRD
Sadiq Khan told that the National Health Service (NHS) and the Public Health England were working up criteria to decide the who would be inoculated first. He said that basically the distribution is done by age but he had asked for considering some additional factors for deciding the criteria. He said that the BAME groups suffered more in terms of deaths due to COVID-19 during the early phases of the pandemic in March, April, May and June.
He said that in London people were more hesitant to take the vaccine as compared to other parts of the country. “In London, there is a greater hesitancy taking a vaccine than other parts of the country. When you look at the take up of smallpox, polio, MMR, HPV- it’s less in London than other parts of the country”, said Khan. For this reason, Khan said that it was important to take the people of London in confidence and make sure the vulnerable people get the vaccine first as they are more at risk of losing lives to the virus.
Khan asks for the opening of shops and businesses ahead of Christmas
Khan had recently demanded the opening of shops and businesses in London in a safe and COVID-19 secure manner ahead of Christmas. “While this is certainly not going to be a normal Christmas, it is more important than ever that no-one has to spend it alone. It is important plans are devised to allow people to spend the festive period with loved ones after such a tough year, but this must be done in the safest way possible”, he said. However, he warned that the Christmas period should not reverse the progress made in controlling the virus.
