Uptake of NHS vaccinations amongst elder members of Pakistani communities
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Healthwatch Bucks gathered feedback for the local Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Public Health team at Buckinghamshire Council on awareness and attitudes towards NHS Vaccinations amongst eligible members of Pakistani communities. This insight was collected to help with their vaccination programme and future campaign planning. They held five focus groups, four two-person interviews and five individual interviews during January and February, hearing from 51 people in total.
All participants received the first and second dose of COVID-19 vaccinations. Their reasons for having the first two doses were fear of catching the virus and not being able to travel.
A quarter said that they got the third jab for COVID-19. Seven people got the fourth booster jab.
Just under three quarters (72%) of the sample had a flu jab in the past. Some people experienced common side effects after their vaccinations such as colds and stiff joints. Most people who had experienced side effects said that they did not intend to have yearly flu jabs.
Only two people had been vaccinated for Shingles. There was confusion about the virus itself and eligibility for vaccinations.
Women were more reluctant to have booster vaccinations for COVID-19 and yearly flu jabs than men.
Everybody had received an invitation to COVID-19 boosters and flu jabs by text, letter, or email. Some invitations went to their relatives as a named point of contact. Most people had the COVID-19 and Flu jabs in pharmacies. They preferred going to their pharmacy as they could ‘walk in’ rather than making an appointment with their General Practitioner (GP).
One person told us that they were looking into home visits for vaccinations due to mobility issues. Almost all the participants were brought to appointments by younger members of their family to help with transport, mobility support and translating health information into Urdu or Punjabi.
Most people were positive about getting seasonal NHS flu vaccinations especially those with relatives working in health care. Some participants said that COVID-19 and flu vaccinations can give bad side effects so best to be avoided. A few groups felt that exercising caution protects from COVID-19 and flu viruses. For instance, grandchildren should be kept away from elders if they are sick.
People said that COVID-19 has been around for a while. They spoke about the global pandemic and the effect that it had on the world. Most participants knew people that had COVID-19 and some that had passed away from the virus. Several people said that they also had COVID-19. Most participants wanted more information about other viruses such as Shingles and Measles.
Participants expected to see information about vaccination services in pharmacies and in GP surgeries. Some of the groups suggested other settings to promote vaccination programmes such as schools, mosques, shops, leisure centres and workplaces.
The report contains six recommendations about involving family members, same sex outreach in mosques, verbal communication in different languages, understanding respect for elders in Pakistani culture, training community health champions and the need for joined up working.