In his second column for the Guardian, GP and chair of the Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group Dr Ken Aswani tackles some misconceptions about the Covid vaccine.

We are some of the first people in the world to have the Covid vaccine and I am incredibly grateful for that, knowing that each person we immunise in Waltham Forest is better protected against this dreadful disease.

We don’t have enough vaccine to offer it to everyone right away so we are using the stock we do have to help the people who are most vulnerable first, to save as many lives as possible. We are now vaccinating people aged 70 and over. You will be contacted when it’s your turn.

We know that there is a higher proportion of people from black and other ethnic minority communities that have complex health problems and that this makes them more vulnerable to serious symptoms and death from Covid, so it is vitally important that whatever your background, you come for your vaccination when invited.

I’m so sad to hear that some people are saying they will not take the vaccine when offered. There are so many rumours and conspiracy theories circulating on social media. I wish the people who circulate those rumours could see a ward on the intensive care unit at Whipps Cross Hospital at the moment, full of people fighting for their lives and staff who are exhausted by the numbers of people flooding in needing critical medical attention.

If you want to be informed or you have concerns about the vaccine you can find lots of information about it and the programme in east London here www.eastlondonhcp.nhs.uk/ourplans/covid-19.htm.

We owe it to ourselves and our communities to look after everyone. Please have the vaccine when your turn comes and meanwhile please do everything you can to keep yourselves and everyone in our community safe.

That includes taking the lockdown rules very seriously. Even if you don’t get very sick yourself, you can still pass it on to the person next to you on the bus, in the street, at the supermarket if you don’t wear your mask properly or wash your hands regularly, stay indoors as much as possible and keep a distance from others when you can’t.