Residents from all communities urged to get COVID vaccine when offered appointment

Across the country there have been reports of some communities being more reluctant to have the jab than others.

And while the vaccination programme in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire is going well, with thousands of people getting the jab every week, community leaders are working hard to ensure everyone gets the vaccine when they are able to.

MORE: More than 30,000 COVID vaccination jabs given out in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire in space of a week

Writing in his weekly column for The Peterborough Telegraph, Peterborough MP Paul Bristow said: "Nearly a quarter of adults in England have had the vaccine. This is a huge success for our country, but there is no room for complacency.

"For all our progress, I’m concerned that attitudes to vaccination aren’t universally positive across our local communities. Whatever the reasons, we need to overcome them to save lives."

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Mr Bristow published a video on his social media channels, where he spoke to community leaders from across Peterborough encouraging people to get the vaccine.

One person who was included in the video was Abdul Choudhuri, chairman of the Peterborough Joint Mosques Council said: "No-one has personally mentioned to me about their concerns about Covid 19 and vaccine- although I am regularly hearing of such concern indirectly.

"I along with my wife had the vaccination about two weeks ago without any problems - we are encouraging every one to get the vaccination done when offered.

" I gave a TV interview couple of weeks ago to that effect and our Imams are also encouraging public to do so, and have made videos by various Faith leaders supported by Peterborough City Council to get the vaccination done.

"i also participated in the video MP made last week - we are also having Zoom meeting about this matter on Friday evening where Medical professionals as well as religious leaders will explain the need of getting the vaccination."

In a letter to The Peterborough Telegraph, cllr Shaz Nawaz, leader of the Labour Party in the city, also called on residents to get the jab.

He said; "I am a British Asian. Born and bred here in Peterborough of Kashmiri parents who came to England to make a new, and better, life for themselves and their children.

"Part of that better life was their willingness to contribute to the NHS and receive the benefits they could only dream of back in Kashmir.

"Perhaps you or your parents felt and did the same? Now the Asian and British Asian community, of which I am a proud member, can do the same and repay the NHS we love and trust by having the injection they are providing for us.

"As leader of the Labour Group on Peterborough city council, you might expect me to say that. But this is more than politics. This is about not putting health at risk or lives at stake.

"We are a tight-knit community. We have, and still do, face adversity. We know we are stronger when we face these things together.

"My plea to you is to see the world, our world, is changing and that we change with it.

"That close-knit affinity has, as many of you know, come at a price.

"We have seen loved ones die from this dreadful disease.

"Death is God’s will but how we place ourselves at his mercy is something we have a say in through freewill.

"We need to love and respect our families and our ties to our community that has seen us through so much adversity in our lives.

"Now, more than ever, we need to keep each other safe. Not only by thinking we might carry the virus and do our loved ones a favour by keeping them at a distance to save them. But also, by having the injections our beloved NHS is working all hours to provide for us.

"They are not making a profit. They are doing it for all the reasons why we and our forefathers benefited from when they arrived here: to keep us healthy and safe from harm and diseases so that we can once again spend times we loved ones.

"It is likely that Covid may become like the flu. We will have booster doses as the strains change in future years. But, right now, we have a global pandemic that we are all vulnerable to.

"By taking your turn when your time comes, as my family will, you will protect yourself and your family, your community, and the NHS we all owe so much to, in this time of real need.

"I hope you will have faith in the decisions of those who came here to create that better life for us and now repay that faith in the NHS and the vaccines they are working so hard to provide for everyone and have yours."

When asked about the uptake in vaccines in different communities in Peterborough, Shama Kanwar, Acting Head of Culture, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the CCG said: “The Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, and we are working closely with community leaders and community groups to ensure everyone has all the information and advice needed to take up the offer of the vaccine when invited for an appointment.”