The work to support ethnic minority communities through the Test Trace and Protect system and Covid vaccination programme in Barry and the Vale was praised during yesterday's Cabinet meeting.

A designated subgroup of TTP, established in July 2020, began by mapping the ethnic minority communities across the Vale and Cardiff and identifying suitable groups and figures to work with.

The group, which included representatives of the Welsh Refugee Council and Cardiff and the Vale College, created a series of digital and printed materials to promote access to testing and vaccination across the region.

Much of the messages were shared via social media, including using specially designed graphics, gifs and videos.

"The group has worked closely with Muslim Doctors Cymru, the Muslim Council of Wales, and a number of GPs from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities across Cardiff and the Vale to produce a series of bitesized educational videos covering issues such as the ingredients of the vaccine and how it was developed," read the report.

Officers specified that a key part of tackling anti-vaccine misinformation was "highlighting the voices of credible community leaders, who members of a given community would trust and listen to".

"Other work included making vaccines available within faith settings and holding drop-in sessions where those with doubts regarding the vaccine could discuss their concerns and, if they wished, be given the opportunity to have the vaccine," the scrutiny meeting heard.

"A regional 'myth-busting' communications network had been established which worked to understand what myths were affecting communities and to develop a targeted approach to dispelling them."

Feedback from the first phase of work showed that information needed to be succinct, in many languages and easily sharable.

As a result, a regular e-bulletin was created. Issued fortnightly, it includes the latest news from the vaccination programme, links to the latest videos produced by the subgroup, links to other reliable information online, and a list of other trusted sources of information.

Anyone can sign up to the bulletin and everyone who receives it is encouraged to pass the information on.

A report from Public Health Wales summarising COVID-19 vaccination in Wales, from 8 December 2020 up to 6 June 2021 revealed that vaccination coverage has increased in all reported socioeconomic and ethnic groups, with coverage of one dose in older age groups levelling off.

In the short term, the TTP group will continue to support the vaccine roll-out and regional response to the pandemic by engaging with local ethnic minority communities.

"Looking beyond the current phase of the response the intention is to continue to evolve the remit of the group so it can provide a mechanism through which to address other health promotion challenges for these and other hard to reach groups," reads the report.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration Cllr Lis Burnett said: "I praised them for the report they've done and the phenomenal work on this whole agenda right across the region.

"A lot of the tailored communications has come down to their input and I think that should be noted."

Council leader Cllr Neil Moore said: "There were significant positive outcomes from this, thankfully.

"A number of communities and public sector organisations have been reached. Clearly they had a hard task to reach some of the population because they are particularly diverse and very hard to reach in some cases but the work is tremendous."