Covid-19

Information and Resources for Communities

British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA): COVID-19 Vaccine Hub

Your one stop shop on debunking myths surrounding the COVID 19 Vaccine: Read more

Debunking the Myths

The following myths are addressed:

• MYTH: GPs are making a lot of money from COVID vaccinations
• MYTH: COVID is no more dangerous than the flu
• MYTH: COVID vaccine causes irreversible side effects
• MYTH: COVID is caused by the 5G network
• MYTH: COVID deaths are being exaggerated
• MYTH: Doctors want to force people to be vaccinated
• MYTH: The COVID vaccine ingredients are Haram
• MYTH: Vaccines contain aborted foetal cells
• MYTH: Vaccines are being used to chip and track the population
• MYTH: Vaccines are unsafe – that is why no pregnant women were in trials
• MYTH: Pharmaceutical companies are all evil so we can’t trust them
• MYTH: The vaccine was approved too quickly to be safe
• MYTH: The vaccine may modify your DNA
• MYTH: The inventor of the PCR test said it was not made to detect diseases such as COVID
• MYTH: PCR is inaccurate and overestimating COVID infections
• MYTH: 99.97% recover from COVID, but 3% get major side effects from vaccine
• MYTH: Wearing a mask is bad for your health
• MYTH: We should just wait for herd immunity
• MYTH: If hospitals are so busy why are Nightingale hospitals empty?
• MYTH: A nurse took the COVID vaccine & died on camera

South Asian Health Foundation: Resources about Coronavirus

We have put together some resources and links in South Asian Languages to follow for advice during the Coronavirus Pandemic. There are several ways you can keep yourself and loved ones safe:

https://www.sahf.org.uk/covid19

Specific information on the vaccine, includes:

• COVID vaccine take-home messages
• Dr Nikki Kanani, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam and David Pearson answer some important questions from health and care staff about the COVID vaccine.
• COVID-19 Vaccination: What to expect. Please read the product information leaflet in Hindi for more details on the vaccine including side effects.
• SAHF Trustees have had the COVID Vaccine; let’s all get vaccinated and start to look forward to the end of the pandemic!

Muslim Women’s Network UK: Information Videos

MWNUK’s trustee, Dr. Iram Sattar who is also a GP, has explained why it is important for people to take the vaccine in a recent blog post on, ”Covid-19 Vaccine Myths vs Facts’ – https://bit.ly/35KQKbJ

Below are some short videos:

• Covid-19 Information Video – English (full) – https://bit.ly/3suwvJh
• Covid-19 Information Video – English (short) – https://bit.ly/2NaPmJf
• Covid-19 Information Video- Urdu – https://bit.ly/3sr6uKI
• Covid-19 Information Audio – Bengali – https://bit.ly/3iho2nZ
• Covid-19 – It’s Now Your Turn – https://bit.ly/35Igs0K

Please watch these videos, share them, and have conversations with your friends, families and colleagues. Together – we can help save lives.

The Inter Faith Network: COVID-19 and Vaccination

Their website contains information and guidance from faith communities about COVID-19 vaccination: https://www.interfaith.org.uk/news/covid-19-and-vaccination

Faith Organisations Guidance on vaccines

NHS England is leading an NHS anti-disinformation drive about the vaccinations. Religious leaders are amongst those with whom they are working, to help debunk myths about the vaccine https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55666407. Public Health England is also working to combat misinformation. Read more

The Hindu Council UK has noted that the Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi, has assured that both vaccines do not contain human or animal products: Read more

The Muslim Council of Britain is supporting the position papers produced by the British Islamic Medical Association on the Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccines: Read more

The Archbishop of Canterbury is encouraging everyone to get the vaccine when they are invited to do so: Read more

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has said it is a ‘religious imperative’ to have the vaccination: Read more

Faith leaders in Scotland have signed a statement urging people to have the vaccination: Read more

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has updated its statement on taking the vaccination: Read more

The Church of England information on the vaccine is at: Read more

Faith Organisations responding to Vaccines

Here is an example of one local response from the leader of the Jamia Masjid Ghausia in Burnley: Read more

Many places of worship are now being used as vaccination centres. These include:

Lichfield Cathedral,
Bedford’s Guru Nanak Gurdwara
Stourbridge National Spiritualist Church; and
a Jain Community Centre in Manchester.

The Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board has held a webinar about vaccinations to discuss the facts and debunk some of the myths: https://twitter.com/MINAB_UK/status/1348934558713073665

The British Board of Scholars & Imams

Top Ten Questions Imams & Scholars Get Asked About Vaccines

The British Board of Scholars & Imams (BBSI) is a national board of traditionally trained scholars and academics, some of whom are senior medical doctors, expert researchers & practitioners, including in fields such as sociology and anthropology. The BBSI has consulted its expert members and other Muslim scholarly and professional bodies, both from the UK and around the world, to produce these questions and answers. We have also liaised with official and independent bodies in preparation of this report – which can be viewed here.

Information from Birmingham and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group

A comprehensive list of FAQs and information is available on the dedicated Birmingham and Solihull COVID-19 Vaccination website to aid you in answering questions. However please do let BSoL Communications know if there are concerns being raised that are not covered in the FAQs.

FAQ includes Vaccine ingredients: “What are the vaccine ingredients?’’

“Information on the vaccine ingredients have been provided by the MHRA. The MHRA have confirmed that both approved COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any animal products. A full list of ingredients for the qualitative and quantitative composition of the vaccine and a full list of the excipient composition of the vaccine can be found at point 6 in the Information for Recipients of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca.”

There is also a downloadable guide on the Covid Vaccine in a range of community languages:

• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Albanian
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Arabic
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Bengali
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Gujarati
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Hindi
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Punjabi
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Polish
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Romanian
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Spanish
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Tagalog
• COVID-19 Guide for older adults Turkish