Tameside's Sikh community offering reassurance over Covid vaccine

Tameside's small Sikh community is making a huge impact in the drive to ensure people from Britain's BAME community get inoculated against Covid-19.

Of the 15 per cent of people who said they would not have the jab nationally, the vast majority were from South Asian backgrounds, prompting Government Minister Nadhim Zahawi to warn that the coronavirus ‘could spread like wildfire within that community’ if the situation does not change.

All of which has prompted Greater Manchester GP Dr Anita Sharma to launch a united for vaccines group. Former Tameside College lecturer and prominent member of the Sikh community, Prithipal Singh was one of its first members to implore people to ignore conspiracy theories and the fake news which he believes ‘is pure imagination.’

Mr Singh, who is nearly 80, had no hesitation in receiving his inoculation three weeks ago. 

“I believe that we all need to be told to get the vaccine,” he said. “Each community should own that message and make sure it is delivered at people’s level.”

Vaccine aversity seems to have even reached BAME people working within the NHS – with white employees almost twice as likely to be inoculated.

Dr Bal Duper, GP at the Pennine Medical Centre in Mossley and Greenfield and the Chief Clinical Officer at Innovative GP Care, said: “There is a fear amongst Asian groups that health workers may not take their concerns seriously. All clinicians in local practices, and in the 7 Day Service, are very keen to discuss those concerns with patients around their vaccination concerns.”

Thankfully, Dr Duper believes that the Sikh community has got the vaccine message – and now has a duty to share that with others. 

He continued: “We have a genuine desire to improve health, it is part of our value system to look after ourselves and others.”

Dr Duper, Mr Singh, and Hopwood GP Dr Harpal Hunjan, have joined members of the Muslim and Hindu communities in a bold bid to become vaccine ambassadors.

The partnership is the brainchild of Oldham medic, Dr  Sharma, who added: “Those perpetrating conspiracy theories are endangering lives, and we all need to ensure that our voices are heard more forcefully. 

“I cannot see how you can better demonstrate that than by spreading the word about the safety and efficiency of the vaccine once you and your family have received it. That is exactly what Bal, Harpal and Mr Singh have done, and their example carries with it substance, truth and compassion.”

Dr Sharma plans to take the promotion of vaccines to mosques, temples, synagogues, and other places of worship plus community centres.

Learn more about the Covid-19 vaccine and your entitlement to it, by going to https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/ 

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