Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason black, Asian and minority groups who are at greater risk of covid-19 have not been included in the composition and order of priority of groups for covid-19 vaccinations.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) consists of independent experts who advise the Government on which vaccine/s the United Kingdom should use and provide advice on prioritisation at a population level. The JCVI has advised that the first priorities for any COVID-19 vaccination programme should be the prevention of COVID-19 mortality and the protection of health and social care staff and systems.

The JCVI notes that while there is clear evidence that certain black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups have higher rates of infection, and higher rates of serious disease, morbidity and mortality, there is no strong evidence that ethnicity by itself or genetics is the sole explanation for observed differences in rates of severe illness and deaths.