Black, South Asian groups in UK fall behind in coronavirus vaccinations: study

Black and South Asian groups in Britain have fallen behind in the country's coronavirus vaccine rollout, a major study showed Thursday, reported Xinhua.

About 55 percent of Black people in England in their 70s had been given a jab against coronavirus by last week compared to 86 percent of white people of the same age range, according to a study led by the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The data also showed that among people aged 70 to 79 from South Asian backgrounds, only 73 percent had been vaccinated by Feb. 11.

The figures were revealed as the British government said the country has hit its target to complete the vaccination of the top priority groups, which cover 15 million people, by mid-February.

Nearly 16 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi has said the government would "not rest" until the vaccine was offered to all over-50s by the end of April.

However, the study showed that people from Black and South Asian backgrounds have been more reluctant to be vaccinated. Earlier research has also showed that the minority groups in Britain have suffered a disproportionate number of deaths in the pandemic.

Another 12,718 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 4,071,185, according to official figures released Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Britain also reported another 738 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain stood at 118,933 on Wednesday. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test.

England is currently under the third national lockdown since outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.