TV ad to encourage black people and ethnic minorities to get Covid vaccine
Minority groups ‘inflicting a degree of separation upon themselves from not trusting in this’, says comic Ranganathan
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An advert featuring black and British-Asian celebrities is set to air across commercial television to encourage ethnic minority groups to accept a coronavirus vaccine.
The clip, a version of which was released online last month, features stars including Meera Syal and Romesh Ranganathan, and journalist Rageh Omaar.
It is due to appear on ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky shortly before 10pm on Thursday, according to reports.
Adil Ray, a TV writer who started the campaign, told Sky News: “Even if it makes one person get the Covid-19 vaccine, then we’ve made a difference.”
There are fears that misinformation about the jabs, which are safe, is spreading within some minority groups. Last year official statistics showed black and Asian people were more likely to die from Covid-19 than white people.
Mr Ranganathan told BBC Breakfast: “It just feels so heart-breaking to me that people from ethnic minorities are inflicting a degree of separation upon themselves from not trusting in this, and I understand all the reasons why – I've heard all the arguments.
“But I just feel so strongly that we need to make sure we dispel some of these myths, so that people are getting involved and we can get ourselves out of this pandemic.”
At the weekend, the UK passed the milestone of having given a vaccine to 15 million people.
Boris Johnson also claimed that in England, everyone from the most vulnerable groups had been offered one – but reporting by The Independent cast doubt on that assertion, with some housebound people saying they had been “forgotten”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments