CHURCH JOINS PEOPLE’S VACCINE APPEAL

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2020-21, the Very Rev Dr Martin Fair, was among 145 global faith leaders uniting to call for the steps necessary to produce and distribute enough Covid-19 vaccine for the entire global population.

April’s statement, signed by representatives of Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches as well as Jewish, Muslim and other faith leaders, calls on leaders around the world to reject ‘vaccine nationalism’ and take steps to make sure that low and middle-income countries are not left behind while richer countries press on with their vaccination programmes.

The call came as part of action from the People’s Vaccine Alliance, a coalition of organisations and activists campaigning for a ‘people’s vaccine’ for Covid-19, which would be based on shared knowledge and freely available to everyone everywhere.

The statement said: “The Covid crisis has reminded us all of our interdependence, and of our responsibilities to care for one another. We can each only be well, when all of us are well. If one part of the world is left to suffer the pandemic, all parts of the world will be put at ever-increasing risk.

“The access of people to life-saving Covid-19 vaccines cannot be dependent on people’s wealth, status, or nationality. We cannot abdicate our responsibilities to our brothers and sisters by imagining that the market can be left to resolve the crisis, or pretend to ourselves that our country has no obligation to people in their country. Every person is precious. We all have a moral obligation to reach everyone.”

 They added: “This unprecedented public health crisis calls, above all, for global solidarity, for all people to stand together as brothers and sisters. The same spirit of unity and common purpose that has driven scientists to develop Covid-19 vaccines at  breathtaking speed, that drives the care of those tending to the sick, must also inspire the leaders of government, civil society and the private sector to massively ramp up vaccine production so there are sufficient doses for every person in the world to be vaccinated.

“We call on all leaders to reject vaccine nationalism and embrace a commitment to global vaccine equity.

“As religious leaders, we join our voices to the call for vaccines that are made available to all people as a global common good –a People’s Vaccine. This is the only way to end the pandemic.”