Communities that have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus are being urged by the government to join the clinical trials of a vaccine. 

Despite around 270,000 people across the UK signing up to participate in the studies, ethnic minorities, Jews, over 65s and those with chronic diseases are currently underrepresented. 

A diverse pool of volunteers reflective of the general population are needed to better understand the effectiveness of potential vaccines. 

Of those who have signed up, however, only 1,200 are black and 11,000 Asian, despite both groups being statistically more likely to die from the virus. 

In a statement, Business Secretary Alok Sharma said: “Coronavirus affects anyone regardless of their background, age or race. To ensure we can find a safe and effective vaccine that works for everyone, we all need to get involved.” 

Minister for Equalities Kemi Badenoch – who is currently volunteering for Covid-19 vaccine trials at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital – added: “We have to ensure every community trusts a future vaccine to be sage and that it works across the entire population.” 

“The only way to check how well a coronavirus vaccine works is to carry out large-scale clinical trials involving thousands of people,” said Kate Bingham, chair of the government’s Vaccine Taskforce. 

“Researchers need data from different communities and different people to improve understanding of the vaccines. The only way to get this is through large clinical trials.”