I write this article with much sadness. Yesterday a friend died after contracting Covid-19. He was a lovely, kind and gentle man but more than this he was a local dentist who dedicated his working life to Newham.

This was more than providing a dental service, he devised and delivered a scheme so that local unemployed people could become dental nurses, he liaised with schools to encourage good dental health – Newham has some of the worse dental health outcomes, he contributed to the development of his profession, locally, regionally and nationally and he worked with national colleagues to ensure Newham got its fair share including successfully campaigning for a dentist south of the borough. Newham has lost a foot soldier.

The truth is by now, most, if not all of us will have lost someone they love due to Covid-19. Newham continues to have some of the highest rates. The vaccine holds out much hope but the truth is that it does not hold out hope equally.

Something had shifted… a lack of trust has built over decades and has been exploded by the recognition that we are two to three times more likely to die from Covid-19.

A local GP told me in November that he and his colleagues were finding that African, Caribbean and Asian patients were not coming forward for their flu vaccination. It was working out as three times less likely and included patients who would usually turn up in the surgery without concern. This he said bodes ill for take up of the Covid-19 vaccine. Something had shifted. Subsequently, national research is supporting this local anecdotal evidence.

My conversations with local African, Caribbean and Asian staff, and reading of the national research, points to a lack of trust that has built over decades and which has been exploded by the recognition that we are two to three times more likely to die from Covid-19 than the general population.

My dentist friend added to the number of Asian people who have lost their lives. These facts justify suspicions that this is the result of structural race inequalities that lead to a poorer experience in accessing services, experiencing care and in health outcomes. This lack of trust requires a sustained and long-term response but our immediate concern must be to encourage the Covid-19 vaccine take up.

Newham Council has developed a diverse band of Covid-19 Champions, Newham residents who are proactively using their networks to persuade others. Local health workers are joining with community and religious leaders to debunk myths and encourage take up, and tailored information and campaigns have been produced.

We all have a role however, we need to ensure that we also deal in vaccination facts, do not pass on inaccurate conspiracy theories via social media and, if we can, challenge these and be encouraging of our neighbours. A practical handbook can be found at The COVID-19 Vaccine Communication Handbook – HackMD, which includes information that is regularly updated. Let’s join together to save as many lives as we can.

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