Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) assessment he has made of the additional risk of the covid-19 virus to South Asian communities and (b) additional support will be provided to improve South Asian communities access to vaccines and health care.

Across the pandemic period to date, the cumulative mortality and hospital admission rates were highest in the Black and Asian groups. Among the Black and Asian groups, the Other Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani groups had the highest rates. The hospital admission rate for the Black and Asian groups was three times higher than the rate for the White group. The mortality rate for the Black and Asian group was two times higher than the White group.

These differences are reduced when looking at survival following infection. In the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in England, after adjusting for pre-existing conditions, age, sex, region and deprivation, the Bangladeshi ethnic group had the poorest survival and had 1.88 times the odds of dying once infected when compared with the White ethnic group. The Pakistani, Chinese, and Black Other ethnic groups had 1.35 to 1.45 times the odds of dying once infected and the Indian group 1.16.

Clear, informative communications explain how, at any possible opportunity, to access the vaccine. Our communications include information and advice via television, radio and social media and have been translated into 13 languages, including Bengali, Chinese, Filipino, Gujarati, Hindi, Mirpur, Punjabi and Urdu. Temporary vaccination sites are in place at targeting areas with low vaccine uptake within inclusion groups and ethnic minorities.

The Government has provided up to £23.75m to local authorities and the voluntary and community sector to improve the reach of official public health guidance and other messaging or communications about the virus into specific places and groups most at risk from COVID-19.