In reply to a question in Parliament today by Shailesh Vara MP, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said that there is “currently no evidence” that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 affects the BAME community differently to other communities.

During a Statement by the Prime Minister giving an update on Covid-19, Mr Vara said that at the start of the pandemic there was evidence that the BAME community was more vulnerable to the virus than other communities, and he asked if any analysis had been carried out to determine whether or not Omicron behaves in the same way. Mr Vara added that this was particularly relevant in view of the significant number of people from the BAME community working in the health and care sector.

In his reply, the Prime Minister said that there is currently no evidence of any differences. Mr Johnson went on to say however, that there is evidence for different levels of vaccine and booster take up amongst different groups, which is affecting outcomes.