South Asian and black populations see lowest Covid booster vaccination rates

Less than half of Pakistani people in the UK have had their third Covid booster Jab

South Asian and Black populations have lowest booster rates (PA Wire)

Pakistani and Black populations in the UK see the lowest booster vaccination rates, new government data has revealed.

Coverage of booster vaccinations among the over 50s showed just 42 per cent of Pakistani people in the UK had received their booster, while 44 per cent of Black Caribbean had received theirs and 54 per cent of Black African people. This compares to 77 per cent of white British people.

According to the Office for National Statistic’s data, published on Friday, more than a quarter of people of Black Caribbean ethnicity are estimated to not have received a first Covid vaccine dose up to December 12 - the highest proportion of all ethnic groups.

People of a Muslim faith were the least likely religious group to have received a booster or third dose with 46 per cent boosted.

Take-up was lower among people living in more deprived areas, those who have never worked or are long-term unemployed, those without qualifications and those who do not own their own home, compared to more-advantaged groups.

Separate data suggested construction, building and transport workers are among those least likely to have received a booster or third dose of Covid-19 vaccine.

An estimated 39.8 per cent of employees in skilled construction and building trades in England have had an extra dose, along with 42.6 per cent of plant and machine operatives and 43.9 per cent of transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives.

The ONS figures suggest that people in what are classed as "elementary trades and related occupations" - such as packers, bottlers, industrial cleaning or farm and forestry workers - have the lowest take-up at 37 per cent

This is followed by skilled construction and building trades at 39.8 per cent, the ONS said.

These occupations also had the highest proportion of people that had not received a first jab, at 14.5 per cent and 12 per cent respectively, the ONS added.

Occupations with the highest take-up were health professionals at 75.3 per cent, health and social care associate professionals at 58.7 per cent, and those working in secretarial and related jobs at 58.4 per cent.

The figures are based on vaccinations delivered up to December 12 for adults in England aged 40 to 64, before Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the new target of offering boosters to all adults who want one by the end of the month.

This means that the figures may reflect the order in which people became eligible for a booster or third dose of vaccine, with jabs initially prioritised for older and vulnerable people before being extended to younger age groups.

Around a third of sports players in England are estimated to have received a booster or third dose of Covid-19 vaccine as of December 12, according to the ONS figures.