By Neil Trainis

Community pharmacists in the east of England have made a series of short videos in a variety of languages to persuade people from different minority ethnic communities to have a flu and Covid vaccination.

In the videos, hosted on the NHS East of England YouTube channel, the vaccines are promoted in 13 languages including Urdu, Polish and Arabic by pharmacists who talk about the importance of getting vaccinated and how to book an appointment.

Among those who appear in the videos are: Monica Wojtowicz, a pharmacist based in Ipswich who explains in Polish how the vaccinations offer protection; Carlos Gonzalez, a pharmacist and university lecturer also based in Ipswich who provides information in Spanish; and Catherine Eve, a retired pharmacist in Cambridge who offers an explanation in French.

Another pharmacist, Moji Adebajo who is based in Luton, explains in Yoruba the importance of getting jabbed. NHS England said the videos will be promoted on social media platforms, GP websites and through community groups.

“The NHS wants everyone entitled to their free Covid and flu vaccinations to get vaccinated, and pharmacists are promoting the vaccine in a range of community languages aimed at the many different community groups living in the east of England,” said Sarah Cavanagh, the lead pharmacist for the NHS’s vaccination programme in the east of England.

“People who don’t have English as their first language may struggle to understand the information they see about the benefits of getting their Covid and flu vaccines.”

Ms Cavanaugh said she hoped the videos will increase the “accessibility of vaccine information and make the vaccine offer more inclusive.”

“More than one million people have already come forward to get their autumn Covid booster in the east of England region, and these videos will help ensure that everyone entitled to vaccinations will get the extra protection from Covid and flu,” she added.