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The UK government has asked people of Indian, Asian, Afro-Caribbean origin to participate in the ongoing clinical trials, including the trials conducted by the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca, Hindustan Times reported.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement as many reports claimed that the effect of the pandemic has been disproportionate and people from Black, Hispanic, and Asian communities have borne the brunt of it.
Currently, these communities are under-represented in the six ongoing vaccine clinical trials across the UK.
The administration revealed only 11,000 volunteers out of 270,000 people belong to Asian and British Asian backgrounds. While only 1,200 are Black, African, Caribbean, or Black British.
Vaccine efficacy
The officials stated that thousands of people from diverse backgrounds are needed for the trials so as to ensure the vaccine efficacy for the whole population.
UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma said, as quoted in the HT report: “Coronavirus can affect anyone regardless of their background, age or race. To ensure we can find a safe and effective vaccine that works for everyone, we all need to get involved.”
“That’s why we are urging more people to support our incredible scientists and join the 270,000 people who have already signed up so we can speed up efforts to find a vaccine to defeat this virus once and for all,” he added.
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