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UAE Covid vaccine: Religious leaders urge people take jabs

Abu Dhabi - Religious leaders praised the role played by the DCD for creating awareness among the public on the importance of taking the jab.

Health authorities have been working tirelessly for the success of the national vaccination programme and have administered over four million Covid-19 shots so far. And the response from the community members has been promising.

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Religious leaders praised the role played by the Department of Community Development (DCD) for their regular visits and creating awareness among the public on the importance of taking the jab.

Pastor Marcus Donald Oates, president of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, offered full support for the efforts of the Abu Dhabi Government to combat the pandemic. “We thank the DCD for conducting visits to the church to help us and our parishioners get vaccinated.”

Pastor Oates noted that mass vaccination will allow a return to normalcy in lives. “We are happy to share that many of our members have already been vaccinated, which shows their confidence and trust in the vaccines made available by the local authorities. We will continue to support the government’s efforts to preserve the health and safety of all community members and bring life back to normal.”

Pastor Bishoy Fakhri, Patron, St Anthony Cathedral for Coptic Orthodox in Abu Dhabi, backed the ‘Choose to Vaccinate’ initiative. “The recent meeting with the DCD was an eye-opener in terms of Abu Dhabi’s determined efforts to work closely with all segments of society to fight the pandemic. We thank them for looking after the welfare of our parishioners by encouraging them to take the Covid-19 vaccine.

“We believe that each of us has a responsibility to ensure everyone’s safety. As such, we assure the DCD of our full help, cooperation and support for the vaccination programme and other recovery efforts of the government. We also thank the DCD for recognising our important role in the success of the vaccination initiative,” said Pastor Fakhri.

Last month, the DCD visited St Joseph’s Cathedral where more than 10,000 individuals were vaccinated. Leading from the front, Bishop Paul Hinder, Apostolic Vicar of the Vicariate of Southern Arabia, and other priests from St Joseph’s Cathedral, including Parish Priest Father Johnson Kadukanmakal and Assistant Parish Priest Father Elie El Hashem, were among the first to take the jab in December.

Last month, Pujya Brahmavihari Swami, religious leader, BAPS Hindu Mandir, also took the vaccine.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com