BLACK AND mixed heritage people in their 70s are receiving the COVID-19 vaccines at much lower rates than their white counterparts, GP records suggest.

Data from an earlier stage in the vaccination programme reveals there are similar disparities among the over-80s.

The findings from a study called OpenSafely, run by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, found discrepancies that were not previously recognised in the over-70s.

This is most likely because only small numbers had received their first vaccine dose.

GP records highlight differences in vaccine uptake between people of different ethnic backgrounds, deprivation levels and health conditions.

Among those aged 70 to 79, who began receiving the jab from mid-January, white people were most likely to take their vaccinations. By February 11, 86% of them had taken the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.

In comparison, only 55% of black 70- to 79-year-olds, 68% of mixed heritage people and 73% of people from South Asian backgrounds had received their first vaccine dose.

49% of people who described their ethnicity as African had taken their first jab, compared with 59% from Caribbean backgrounds.

Among South Asian people aged 70 to 79, 60% of those who described themselves as Pakistani or British Pakistani had gone through the vaccination programme.

Professor Stephen Evans, one of the scientists leading the project, explained that it was not possibly to accurately say the reasons behind these disparities.

“We can’t distinguish between these things,” he explained.

Data does not distinguish between those who didn’t receive a vaccine invite, and those who had received vaccine invites, but struggled to access vaccination centres.

Vaccine effectiveness

According to study published on Wednesday, the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccines appear to be significantly less effective against the South African variant of the virus.

The New England Journal of Medicine says that it produced only a third of the antibodies that it did for the original virus variant.

Still, it is important to note that there was “no clinical evidence” that the vaccine offered limited COVID-19 protection, as tests are still ongoing.