THE CAMBRIDGE University African and Caribbean Alumni Society (CUACAS) are running a COVID-19 literacy campaign to address vaccine hesitancy in their community.

This month, a follow up event to the first live Q&A is set to be hosted by CUACAS in response to the figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which revealed that 44% of black or black British adults have a reluctance to take the vaccine compared to just 8% of white adults.

The university society, which provides a place for those from the diaspora to connect and develop, say that participants from their first event were 14% more likely to take the COVID-19 vaccine, but they would like to increase this percentage after their next virtual meeting.

Society member Krista Farrell said: “The next wave will come and if we don’t get vaccinated history will repeat itself. Africans and Caribbean’s will be hit harder than every other group with localised outbreaks in our communities that we will not be able to control.

“We cannot allow this to happen, this is why we are in the heart of our communities trying to save lives.”

Other African and Caribbean medical practitioners, such as Dr Attah Ocholi, Dr Hamish Mohammed and Dr Sarah-Ann Filson are all working with community-based DJs across the UK to reach the most vaccine-resistant and vulnerable members of the wider community.

CUACAS Secretary-General Afua Kudom belives that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy can only be solved with truth and reconciliation.

She said:”We acknowledge systemic racism and the impact it has on us. African and Caribbean people tend to experience much poorer medical outcomes than the rest of the UK population.

“Providing access to medical professionals from our respective communities increases trust and has proven to be a game-changer for vaccine acceptance.”