Doctors fear 'fake news' is causing Asian people to reject Covid vaccine over claims from subcontinent that the jabs contain alcohol or meat and can alter patients' DNA - as Imam warns slow uptake among Muslims could 'fan flames of Islamophobia'

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Doctors have expressed fears over 'fake news' causing South Asian people to reject the Covid vaccine over false claims that the jabs contain alcohol or meat and can alter patients' DNA.  

It comes as Leeds-based Imam Qari Asim, who is chair of Mosque and Imams National Advisory Board, said a slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine within Muslim communities could 'fan the flames of Islamophobia'.

Dr Harpreet Sood, a Global Digital Health Advisor, said language and cultural boundaries are partly responsible for the false material spread via social media and WhatsApp.

The practising doctor is working on an NHS anti-disinformation campaign with South Asian influencers and religious leaders to disprove myths about the jab.

Much of the false information appears to be targeted at Muslims, who do not drink alcohol or eat pork, and Hindus, who consider cows to be sacred.

An undated document released by Sage on Friday found 'marked difference existed by ethnicity, with black ethnic groups the most likely to be Covid-19 hesitant, followed by Pakistani/Bangladeshi groups'. 

Dr Harpreet Sood (pictured), who is NHS England's Associate Chief Clinical Information Officer, said language and cultural boundaries are partly responsible for the false material

A recent study showed 57 per cent of people from BAME backgrounds would be likely to take a Covid-19 jab if advised to by their GP or health professional (file photo)

It follows research from last month suggesting that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are significantly less likely to take the Covid vaccine.

Dr Sood told the BBC: 'We need to be clear and make people realise there is no meat in the vaccine, there is no pork in the vaccine, it has been accepted and endorsed by all the religious leaders and councils and faith communities.' 

He added: 'We're trying to find role models and influencers and also thinking about ordinary citizens who need to be quick with this information so that they can all support one another because ultimately everyone is a role model to everyone.' 

Around 100 mosques are using Friday prayers to raise coronavirus awareness and dispel myths around vaccinations, and Imams have agreed to be filmed being vaccinated in a bid to 'inspire confidence' in their communities and show that jabs are permissible and halal. 

The congregation at the Makka Mosque in Leeds. Imam Qari Asim said a slow uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine within Muslim communities could 'fan the flames of Islamophobia'

Imam Asim said: 'Some of the campaigns that have been run - we are seeing that because of the webinars, people are changing their views on these vaccines and there is a greater uptake of these vaccines in the Muslim communities.

'Misinformation can result in someone losing their life and it is one of the core principles of Islam that protection of life is extremely important. 

'My message to Muslim communities is that it is our ethical obligation, moral duty to take the vaccine whenever the opportunity arises.'

False information was reportedly shared through social media and WhatsApp messages, wrongly claiming the vaccine contains meat or alcohol.

Iman Asim added: 'We saw that happen in the first lockdown when the mosques were closed, but actually an extreme far-right was spreading rumours and misinformation using historic footage to say that mosques are open.

'We don't want any community to be scapegoated during this pandemic.

'I think it's extremely concerning that even during this pandemic there are people that are exploiting opportunities and also spreading misinformation online and scapegoating communities.' 

Dr Samara Afzal, who works in Dudley, West Midlands, said many South Asian patients have been refusing appointments when offered the vaccination.  

Reena Pujara, a Hindu beauty therapist from Hampshire, said her social media has been flooded with the 'fake news'.

She said: 'Some of the videos are quite disturbing especially when you actually see the person reporting is a medic and telling you that the vaccine is going to alter your DNA.' 

Iman Asim, who is chair of MINAB, said: 'MINAB strongly recommends people to take the vaccines.

'The Covid vaccines administered in the UK are halal, permissible from Islamic perspective, and there should be no hesitation in taking them from a moral perspective.

'MINAB is advocating this position through its proactive endeavour for the BAME communities to be vaccinated, as BAME communities are at very high risk of being infected by this lethal virus.'

A recent study showed three-quarters (76 per cent) of the British public would take a Covid-19 jab if advised to by their GP or health professional, according to polling for the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH).

This fell to 57 per cent of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who would be likely to, compared with 79 per cent of white respondents.

Imam Asim (pictured) has written a special sermon which tackles some of the 'fake news' about the vaccine which is circulating on social media

Confidence was lowest among respondents of Asian ethnicity, with 55 per cent likely to say yes to a jab.

The RSPH previously said there was an issue with anti-vaccination messages being 'targeted at different groups, including different ethnic or religious communities', adding that these groups 'continue to be most at risk of getting ill and most at risk of dying'. 

And 70 per cent of the lowest earners were likely to say yes to a vaccine, compared with 84 per cent of the highest earners.

Men were more likely to get the jab than women, and 14 per cent of Londoners said they would be 'very unlikely' to get vaccinated - the highest proportion in the UK.

Overall, just 8 per cent of those surveyed said they would be very unlikely to take a coronavirus vaccine.

BAME respondents who said they were not willing to be vaccinated were open to offers of further health information from their GP. 

A recent poll by YouGov, posted to Twitter (above) today, shows that people in Britain are the second most willing of any nation to take the Covid-19 vaccine

More than a third (35 per cent) said they would be likely to change their mind if they had more information about a vaccine's effectiveness, compared with 18 per cent of white respondents. 

RSPH chief executive Christina Marriott previously said: 'It is highly concerning that both those living in poorer areas and those from minority ethnic communities are less likely to want the vaccine.

'However, it is not surprising. We have known for years that different communities have different levels of satisfaction in the NHS and more recently we have seen anti-vaccination messages have been specifically targeted at different groups, including different ethnic or religious communities.

'But these are exactly the groups which have suffered most through Covid.

'They continue to be most at risk of getting ill and most at risk of dying. So the Government, the NHS and local public health must rapidly and proactively work with these communities.'