London: The UK government on Monday issued an appeal for more people from an ethnic minority background, including those of Indian-origin, to sign up for ongoing clinical trials for a potential vaccine to combat COVID-19.
A targeted recruitment programme broadcast in Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali and Urdu is among the measures being deployed to reach out to different communities.
Over 1,00,000 people have volunteered to take part in vaccine trials across Britain as part of efforts to speed up the discovery of a safe and effective vaccine that protects against the deadly coronavirus.
However, the uptake among certain sections of the population has been low, leading to a call-out for more ethnic minorities, over-65s and frontline health and social care workers to join the National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry to help ensure the potential vaccine candidates work for everyone.
Scientists and researchers are working day and night to find a vaccine that meets the UK’s rigorous regulatory and safety standards, but they need hundreds of thousands of people of all backgrounds and ages to sign-up for studies to speed up this vital research, said UK Business Secretary Alok Sharma. (PTI)
