What is the Covid Status in the ?
Over 122,000 people have lost their lives to Covid-19 in the UK so far and the Black population makes up the biggest share of the loss. In England and Wales, males of Black African ethnic background have the highest rate of deaths, 2.7 times higher than males of White ethnic background, according to a report by the British Office for National Statistics released in mid- .
How are racial minorities dealing with COVID in the UK?
Another report by the British Government asserts that “minority ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, experiencing higher morbidity and mortality.”
While immigrants are part of the key population segment responsible for keeping the British economy rolling during these tough times and lockdowns, London is showing less concern over their health status and safety. This is while 94% of cab drivers in London are people of colour.
In stark contrast with the fact that London is responsible for the life and security of all its people regardless of their ethnicity and immigration status, the government of Boris Johnson has shown no intentions of undertaking serious measures to alleviate the discriminatory atmosphere in the country.
“With the coronavirus crisis disproportionately impacting Black communities, it means that the pandemic is intensifying systemic and structural racism, and pre-existing economic and health inequalities,” Christina McAnea wrote for UNISON, the UK’s largest union, in a report published on 23 February.
Has Britain reigned in the COVID-19 spread?
While the number of inoculated people is rising in Britain, there are some regions which are witnessing a new wave of rising infections. The latest figures released on Friday show that 19,177,555 people in the UK have received a first dose of vaccination and 736,037 have been given a second dose. Meanwhile, BBC quoted England’s deputy chief medical officer as saying that some areas of the UK are “burning quite hot” with rising levels of new coronavirus infections.
There were 15,485 patients in hospital with coronavirus on 24 February 2021, the same source confirmed.
Is the Vaccine Distributed Fairly in the UK?
There are many state and non-state reports and statements sounding the alarm to warn us that there is huge inequality in distributing Covid vaccines in the UK.
Black people were the least likely to have received a vaccine among those aged 80 and over, while white people were the most likely, BBC wrote on Friday citing analysis of NHS records by the OpenSAFELY group – a collaboration between Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The same discrimination is visible when it comes to comparing the areas resided by the rich with poor-inhabited regions, as the same source confirms that 85% of those aged 80 and over in the poorest areas had been given the vaccine by 11 February compared to 94% in the most affluent areas.
Can the UK get rid of its stained record of human rights violations?
Racially-skewed health inequalities are not new in Britain, and for years it has been the political domination and bullying which have intimidated other countries to turn a blind eye to these realities. But it is not going to be the same anymore. In a most recent case of reaction to harsh realities of human rights in Britain, Chinese diplomats were loud in voicing their concern on Wednesday.
In the UK, there are many phenomena such as racial discrimination, xenophobia, hate speech, and severe abuses of rights against refugees and immigrants, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing in Beijing, according to Xinhua.
Head of the Chinese Mission to the UN in Geneva, Chen Xu, urged London to “put life first and take effective measures to prevent and control the Covid-19 pandemic”. He made the remarks addressing the high-level segment of the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.
A report by the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) has warned Westminster that British policies are scaring immigrants from accessing healthcare even if they are entitled to it. JCWI’s new research recounts that almost half of all the migrants surveyed (43%) said they would be scared to access healthcare if they got sick during this pandemic.
A recent UK poll conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health suggests that only 57% of respondents from minority ethnic groups were likely to accept a Covid-19 vaccine, compared to 79% of White respondents (with only 55% of respondents of Asian ethnicity likely to say yes).
Why Are Minorities Afraid of Vaccines?
What all these polls and surveys have in common is that ethnic and racial minorities have bad memories about unfair treatment by the British Government and cannot trust what is offered by the authorities.
Records of hundreds of years of racial inequality and unfair handling of their affairs have made black and other minority groups vigilant when it comes to anything managed by the government.
For the less privileged minorities, it is preferable to be more careful about contracting the disease rather than giving in to the rule of the big brother in London.
Even the current course of events is exposing more duplicity by the British Government which is trying to use the media to convince the public that it is innocent in the case of racial disparity in the number of Covid victims.
