Covid: Vaccine fears addressed in South Asian languages

Concerns about side-effects and ingredients are causing South Asians to worry about taking the vaccine.

Misinformation is causing the South Asian community to have one of the highest rates of vaccine hesitancy in the UK, according to surveys from health groups.

The BBC has also seen reports that doctors are having to call patients in this community in their own time to convince them to take the vaccine.

Many of their concerns include why the coronavirus vaccine has been prioritised when other diseases have not been cured, worries about whether the vaccine contains alcohol and whether it can affect a person's DNA.

BBC Asian Network is bringing together community figures with doctors to discuss fears around the coronavirus vaccines in five South Asian languages: Punjabi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati and Sylheti.

Punjabi

Immigration lawyer and community figure Harjap Bhangal discusses some of the common concerns he's seen with Dr Carter Singh in Punjabi.

Tamil

Dharma Rabindramohan, president of Saiva Munnetta Sangam centre, discusses some of the common concerns he's seen with Dr Archana Sasitharan in Tamil.

Urdu

Shabana Begum, a Covid-19 project co-ordinator in Bradford discusses some of the common concerns she's seen with Dr Nadia Ghani in Urdu.

Gujarati

Praful Thakrar, a community figure in Leicester discusses some of the common concerns he's seen with Dr Sayyada Mawji in Gujarati.

Sylheti

Imam Abul Hussain, from the East London Mosque discusses some of the common concerns he's seen with Dr Jahangir Alom in Sylheti.