Sikh Coalition Launches First COVID-19 Vaccine Resource: Critical State-by-State Information for Sangats Across the Country
February 1, 2021 — The Sikh Coalition continues to prioritize pandemic response work. In 2021, this means helping every Sikh in the United States understand the importance of getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Sikh Coalition is undertaking this work in direct consultation with medical professionals at the North American Sikh Medical and Dental Association (NASMDA) and the Sikh Family Center as well as colleagues at the Jakara Movement. We will create and distribute a wide range of resources over the coming weeks designed to help every sangat member learn and share accurate information about the vaccine, know when and where to get their vaccine, and encourage their sangat to stay safe while everyone who can get vaccinated does so.
“There is plenty of confusion and misinformation circulating about vaccines in general, and we hope that resources like this one are the first step towards a more informed–and therefore a safer–sangat,” said Rucha Kaur, Sikh Coalition Community Development Director. “Though we are not a public health organization, the Sikh Coalition is continuing to pivot our resources to this work because we believe that we must all do our part to keep ourselves and our communities safe.”
The inaugural resource in this effort is a new document that outlines vaccine information and resources for all 50 states. Every state has different rules and processes against who can get vaccinated first and how, and this free-to-access document directs users to the appropriate government websites for more information; it also provides basic legal information confirming that per the Centers for Disease Control, immigration status should not affect an individual’s access to getting vaccinated. The document will be regularly updated as states move through their various vaccine ‘phases’ and more vaccines become available to larger groups of the public.
“While it will take time to get everyone vaccinated, this is our surest path to recovery from the pandemic that has ravaged our communities and our nation for the past year,” continued Rucha Kaur. “We are proud to partner with like-minded Sikh organizations in this effort, because it is essential that we share accurate information about the vaccines themselves as well as critical information about how to keep staying safe as more and more of our sangats get access to their vaccines.”
Source: Sikh Coalition Launches First COVID-19 Vaccine Resource – Sikh Coalition