Nadiya Hussain urges British Bangladeshis to get Covid-19 vaccine in new campaign

Nadiya Hussain has urged the British Bangladeshi community to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in a new video campaign.

The Great British Bake Off star has joined Chef’s Table actress Asma Khan and MasterChef’s Dr Saliha Mahmood in order to combat negative assumptions surrounding the jab.

According to NHS data, around 76,106 people of Bangladeshi descent have received the first dose of the vaccine in England.

In the video, Nadiya begins by saying: ‘Education is empowering. By educating ourselves around vaccination, it allows us to encourage our family members, loved ones and communities to get the vaccine.’

She continues: ‘If we want to get back to celebrations and spending quality time with our families, we need to find a way out of this pandemic.

‘We have been given the opportunity with the Covid-19 vaccine. So I encourage you to read around the vaccine and ask questions to your doctors.

‘My sister has had the vaccine and suffered no side effects. When the time comes, I will be getting my Covid-19 vaccine too.’

Dr Saliha, who is an NHS doctor, then explains: ‘It is imperative we talk the language of these communities. As an NHS doctor but also as a woman and mother from this community, I hope to use this platform to spread a positive message around vaccination as far as possible.’

Asma, who owns the Darjeeling Express restaurant in London, added: ‘Food is at the heart of our communities and our families, and the quicker we get vaccinated, the quicker we will be able to enjoy meals together with our loved ones.’

The NHS have now offered all those in the first four priority groups a vaccine, as they aim to work through the remaining groups left.

So far, more than 20 million people in the UK have had their first dose of the jab.

While this figure includes nine out of 10 people aged 65 and over, the NHS are hoping to encourage as many people as possible from ethnic minority communities to take up the offer.

In January, Adil Ray, Romesh Ranganathan and Konnie Huq joined a whole host of fellow celebs as they urged those from Black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups to get their vaccine.

Appearing in a video, created in association with the British Asian Trust, to share guidance and information about the vaccine and offer reassurance, Ackley Bridge star Adil stressed the need to ‘look after others and serve our community’.

Former Blue Peter presenter Konnie added: ‘Our community has played its part… the vaccine was available more quickly because of a global effort’, while Romesh was on hand to debunk myths regarding the jab.

‘There is no chip or tracker in the vaccine to keep watching where you go, your mobile phone actually does a much better job of that,’ he joked.

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