Amateur boxing’s vaccine campaign

Q Shillingford

AMATEUR boxing has started a campaign to support the rollout of the coronavirus vaccination programme, encouraging everyone to take up the vaccine when they are invited to do so. With almost 1,000 clubs and 20,000 members around the country at the onset of the pandemic, England Boxing is uniquely placed to help the NHS reach into local communities and continue the momentum that has seen millions receive their first dose of the vaccine.

Heart of Portsmouth coach Q Shillingford helped to set up the campaign. Heโ€™d previously helped with a public health campaign and a contact of his in the NHS had approached him about vaccination. โ€œI said yeah, let me try and make it bigger than Portsmouth. Letโ€™s try and make it national and it has [gone national], theyโ€™ve done a really good job in fact,โ€ Shillingford said.

England Boxing took on the campaign, bringing in boxers, like Olympic medallist Anthony Ogogo, coaches and volunteers to support the #WinWithTheJab campaign. There is hesitancy among some groups about having the vaccine. The aim of this effort is to dispel misconceptions. โ€œIt does my head in, some of the stuff you see on social media, itโ€™s absolute poppycock. [But] youโ€™ve got to put yourself in other peopleโ€™s shoes. Because I was military, Iโ€™ve always had vaccines,โ€ Shillingford said. โ€œI think wait a minute Q, theyโ€™re not in the same environment as you are.

โ€œThe last thing they heard, someone told them who didnโ€™t know what he was talking about, so naturally thatโ€™s all theyโ€™ve got to believe in.โ€
โ€œItโ€™s all about what theyโ€™re hearing,โ€ he continued. โ€œThese people are not stupid, theyโ€™re not thick itโ€™s just they havenโ€™t got the means that you have. They have to go on what theyโ€™ve been told.โ€

On Thursday (April 1) he will be doing a question and answer session live on England Boxingโ€™s facebook with Professor Anton Emmanuel to address queries and concerns. Professor Emmanuel is NHS Englandโ€™s lead for Workforce Race Equality and leading neuro-gastroenterologist. โ€œThe NHS has made fantastic progress in vaccinating the most vulnerable people in society and it is vital that we continue this momentum as supplies allow,โ€ he said. โ€œWeโ€™ll be working with England Boxing to answer the questions and concerns of people from a range of communities, and to make sure that everyone knows that this vaccine is safe and effective for all, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or class.โ€

Boxing clubs and coaches are trusted in their communities. In Shillingfordโ€™s case he has a particular bond with the Sudanese community in Portsmouth. That has been forged over years. โ€œWhat happened was a Sudanese guy came in, I said alright mate, he went I really like boxing, I used to do it in the military when I was in Sudan. I didnโ€™t do much but I really liked it and I want to learn how to box. To cut a long story short, heโ€™s now one of our most experienced coaches. Heโ€™s been with us for over a decade,โ€ Q said.

There was some reluctance for more from that community to get involved. So Shillingford invited himself to a meeting at their community centre. โ€œIโ€™m coming in to do a speech to tell them how cool they all are and how I want them in my gym,โ€ he said. โ€œWent there, I had a translator, I did a demo, got the leader to do pads, got the kids up and stuff like that. The next minute, bingo, they all realised youโ€™ve done that deed of trust.โ€

Now two Sudanese boxers are stars for the club. One won the novice championships and Q took Ahmed Abdelrahman to the World championships. โ€œTheyโ€™re household names in Portsmouth. Now Iโ€™m like part of the Sudanese community,โ€ Shillingford said. โ€œWe organised it all, we got to Russia and he saw his flag at the opening ceremony and it was up throughout the tournament, all the flags were, and he was just happy. He lostโ€ฆ but he didnโ€™t make a fool of himself, he got in there and gave 100 percent and everyone was proud of him.โ€

โ€œJust a little bit of time, by going to that meeting and weโ€™ve got top kids now and even better, as much as itโ€™s good to have titles and stuff like that, the Sudanese community are picking the boxing gym because they trust the boxing gym to come in and have a vaccine. Thatโ€™s unbelievable,โ€ Q continued.

โ€œWho would have thought an ethnic group, a community would choose, over their own hall, a boxing gym. And [they] just said everyone will come there.โ€

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