Do Good Vaccinations
Image courtesy of Northern Illinois Annual Conference
Faith-based communities may hold the key to the vaccinations that will stem the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, now entering its 15th month. Increasingly, United Methodists are at the forefront of the public health effort.
Global access to vaccinations is crucial, writes Karen Levy, associate professor of environmental & occupational health sciences at the University of Washington. In her article for The Conversation, “Think like a virus to understand why the pandemic isn’t over yet – and what the US needs to do to help other countries,” Dr. Levy writes:
“To outsmart the virus, we need shots in arms everywhere.
“That is why global access to vaccines is not only a moral imperative but also the only way to outsmart the virus. The U.S. can do a lot right now to ensure global access to vaccines even as we step up vaccination here.
“The U.S. has already made substantial commitments to COVAX, a global collaboration to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines and guarantee equitable distribution.
“The U.S. could channel additional funds now and pressure other countries to do the same. Funding commitments to COVAX may be hollow without a concurrent plan to quickly distribute the vaccine stockpile the U.S. has amassed as we raced to buy up the first available doses.
“In addition to vaccination, the U.S. and other well-resourced countries can help increase the availability of testing in all countries. These countries can also provide technical and logistics assistance to improve vaccine rollout efforts and work to coordinate and improve global genomic surveillance so new variants are quickly identified.
“If this all seems expensive, think of the crushing economic costs of going back into lockdown. This is no time to be cheap.
“To avoid jeopardizing the effectiveness of the millions of shots going into arms in rich countries, we must get shots into the arms of people in all countries.”
Sadly, however, the Washington Post reported May 26, Resistance to vaccine mandates is building. A powerful network is helping. The report that a New York law firm is coordinating a campaign against immunizations highlights the need for churches to step up and promote coronavirus vaccinations.
Public Religion Research Institute CEO Robert P. Jones and Eboo Patel, president and founder of Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC), contend in a recent Religion News Service article that “The path to herd immunity runs through America’s faith communities.” They report that their recent joint study on faith communities influence found that “residents of many of the most vaccine-hesitant areas in the United States turn out to be remarkably receptive to faith-based interventions.”
Longtime advocates of public health, United Methodists already have had great success in bringing coronavirus vaccinations to underserved communities, such as the effort by UMC-related Meharry Medical School to vaccinate residents of communities of color in greater Nashville, Tenn.
Now the two annual conferences that cover the state of Illinois – Northern Illinois and Illinois Great Rivers – have stepped up to encourage vaccinations across the state. According to the Northern Illinois newsletter:
“During the week of May 30 – June 6, the Northern Illinois Conference and the Illinois Great Rivers Confernece are teaming up asking every United Methodist Church in the State of Illinois to invite and encourage their members, friends, family, and neighbors to get vaccinated or to speak with their health care provider about their vaccine questions. Over the next few months, hundreds of our churches will be hosting vaccine clinics or supporting partnerships with other vaccine clinics in their community. … This is our chance to step up, do good, and help God’s healing work in ending the COVID-19 pandemic in our communities.”
If you have questions, feel free to contact Curtis Brown (IGRC) at cbrown@igrc.org or Arlene Christopherson (NIC) at achristo@umcnic.org.
The Northern Illinois newsletter also cited three reasons for churches to sponsor vaccinations initiatives:
- “We want to save lives. Our faith aspires not just to equip people for an eternal afterlife but also to improve the quality of people’s lives today. … Supporting and encouraging people to get vaccinated is one of the best ways we can help save lives today.
- “We want to do good. When we see a problem, we want to be a part of fixing it. Our faith involves not just avoiding harm, but also actively seeking out ways to do good in the world. Helping our friends and neighbors get vaccinated is a way to bless them by spreading health and well-being.
- “We want to safely return to larger ministry gatherings. In our state, vaccinations have been the most effective intervention to decrease our cases, hospitalization, and deaths from COVID-19. We want our churches to be full of people once again and for it to be safe to gather people together for potlucks, Bible studies, vacation Bible school, rummage sales, and picnics. Increasing the number of vaccinated people in our communities is the fastest path to reducing the risk of COVID-19 and safely conducting our ministries.”
So, from the broadest global perspective down to the activities of the humblest church, coronavirus vaccinations are proving to be the most effective tool to get over the pandemic that has killed millions, damaged the worldwide economy and stifled human society for the past 15th months. Until we can get COVID-19 shots into enough arms around the planet, wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your distance, sanitize, and pray – pray that partisan political foolishness will be overcome by a vigorous faith in the miracle of science that God has provided through vaccinations.
Media Mentions as of May 26, 2021
‘Vaccines are satanic’: Bolivia battles fake news in inoculation drive – Reuters *
How to concentrate on God in a pandemic – The Wall Street Journal *
How can we make it right? What the world’s religions have to say about justice – Vox
Illinois megachurch leaves UMC amid LGBT debate, retains ownership of campuses – Christian Post
Panel says faith community must lead slavery reparations – The Associated Press
100 years later, Black church leaders seek reparations for Tulsa massacre – Religion News Service
Near-complete ban on abortion is signed into law in Texas – The New York Times *
Democracy is the issue in the Mississippi abortion case – The Wall Street Journal *
The abortion fight has never been about just Roe v. Wade – The Atlantic *
*Paid subscription required
Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011.