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These are the three main reasons people are turning down COVID vaccines

The ONS found people from ethnic minorities were less likely to get the COVID vaccine when compared to white British people. (PA)
The ONS found people from ethnic minorities were less likely to get the COVID vaccine when compared to white British people. (PA)

The most common reasons people give for not getting a COVID-19 vaccine when offered one has been revealed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

More than nine in 10 adults reporting a positive sentiment towards the COVID vaccines with the vast majority accepting them when offered, the ONS said.

But among the roughly 7% of people who refused the vaccine the three main reasons were fears over "long-term health effects", "side effects" and "how well the vaccine works."

The ONS said among people aged 50 and over vaccination rates were lower for all ethnic minorities when compared to white British people.

White British people were the most likely group to get the vaccine. (Twitter/ONS)
White British people were the most likely group to get the vaccine. (Twitter/ONS)

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The least likely group to get the vaccine were Black African's at just over 70% saying they would take the jab and Black Caribbean's at just over 66%.

Among white British people, over 93% of them got the vaccine, with people of Indian heritage just behind on 90.9%.

Rates were also estimated to be lower in people of Muslim or Buddhist faiths, those who do not speak English, those living in more deprived areas and disabled people.

The ONS found differences in geography, socio-demographic factors and underlying health conditions do not fully explain the lower vaccination rates among ethnic minority groups.

Statistical modelling showed the odds of not having received a dose of a vaccine were 7.4 times greater for people from black Caribbean backgrounds compared with people of white British ethnicity.

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After adjusting for age, sex, socio-demographic characteristics and underlying health conditions, the odds were still 5.6 times greater.

For people identifying as black African, the unadjusted odds were six times greater, while the adjusted odds were 3.4 times higher.

The ONS also found a relationship between proficiency in the English language, as recorded in the 2011 census, and vaccination rates.

Estimated rates were 75.3% among those who do not speak English at all, 75.9% for people who do not speak English well, and 92.7% for those whose main language is English.

The UK has the highest vaccine willingness in the world, according to YouGov. (PA)
The UK has the highest vaccine willingness in the world, according to YouGov. (PA)

The vaccination rate among people living in the most deprived areas of England was 87.8%, compared with 94.5% in the least deprived, the ONS said.

Despite all of this, the vast majority of adults in the UK have faith in the vaccines, with take rates higher than the government expected and among the highest in the world.

YouGov found in April vaccine hesitancy among people in the UK had plummeted since the rollout of the COVID jabs got going.

They found only 11% of people were hesitant to get the vaccine, down from 39% in November 2020.

They also found vaccine hesitancy in the UK was the lowest in the world.

Of the countries YouGov polled, Taiwan had the lowest vaccine willingness at 35%, compared to the UK's 89%.

France's has risen from a low of 26% to 58% but still far behind many of its European neighbours, with Germany on 67% and Spain on 82%.

The USA, which has long been home to an anti-vax movement, has risen from a low of 36% to 65%.

The UK has among the highest vaccination rates in the world, with over 66% of the adult population having received their first jab and just over 30% have received their second.

Over half a million jabs were administered in the UK on Wednesday, with over 400,000 of those being second injections.

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