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State health officials, St. Luke’s, community groups join effort to promote safety, efficacy
The Pennsylvania Health Department, St. Luke’s University Health Network and Islamic leaders came together Wednesday with a message to minority communities that the COVID19 vaccine is safe and everyone should get it as soon as possible.
At a news conference at St. Luke’s Hospital-Sacred Heart, Alison Beam, the state’s acting health secretary, was joined by Imam Mohammad Elshinawy of the Islamic Education Center of Pennsylvania; Rabiul Chowdhury, founder of the Philadelphia-based Muslim Aid Initiative; and officials with St. Luke’s to discuss vaccine hesitancy.
“We’re getting to the point where we are finding that folks may have the appointment accessible to them, but they might have those reservations, so we’ve been talking about safety and efficacy,” Beam said.
Beam said the state is trying to address reservations people may have as quickly as possible. She said to better reach people and address their hesitations or concerns about the vaccine, the state is working with local leaders and health care providers.
Rajika Reed, vice president of community health for St. Luke’s, said the health network has partnered with many local organizations to reach racial and ethnic minority populations about
the vaccine. She said these partners include the Lehigh Valley Muslim Community Activists, the Ortiz Ark Foundation, the Unidos Foundation, Promise Neighborhood of the Lehigh Valley and Lehigh on the Horizon along with many other community organizations.
Elshinawy, who is also the Imam of Jesus Son of Mary Mosque, said he and the Muslim community in the Lehigh Valley want to help end the pandemic. He said through webinars they have been letting Muslims know that their religion holds no prohibitions or reservations against the ingredients in the vaccines. He added the vaccine is not prohibited in the holy month of Ramadan, which will last April 12 to May 12.
“Also although we as a devotion to Almighty God, in this upcoming month of Ramadan abstain from food and drink in the daytimes, we explain and educate accurately as best as we can that this has nothing to do with medicinal injections because they’re not nutritious,” Elshinawy said. “They don’t take the place of food and drink and therefore they are inconsequential to this act of devotion of ours.”
There has been some hesitancy, especially among Black and Latino communities, in getting the vaccine because of racism people of color have experienced in the health care system.
Chowdhury said the nonprofit Muslim Aid Initiative was created to disseminate accurate health information and resources to the communities of the greater Philadelphia area. He said his nonprofit recently released a multilingual video featuring 10 health care providers that explain the benefits of getting the COVID19 vaccine and reassures viewers of its safety. He said the video is in English, Spanish, French, Bengali, Hindi, Arabic, Turkish, Mandarin and Urdu. Chowdury added that the Muslim Aid Initiative has also held its own COVID-19 vaccination clinic.
Though the conference paid special attention to Muslims, Beam said the hesitancy that the state is seeing is more an issue among individuals than specific communities, including religious ones.
Elshinawy added he was not aware of any widespread hesitancy or skepticism of vaccines among Muslims and Islamic communities.
“Our community by and large, though my numbers are relatively anecdotal, have been either taking the vaccine or looking forward to do it at the earliest possible time,” he said.
He said the issue isn’t one pocket of the community or another being skeptical but the issue of vaccine hesitancy instead is caused by misinformation spreading online and people ending up in ideological echo chambers.