SACC: Church leaders must vaccinate in public ‘to inspire confidence’
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) has called on
church leaders to “walk the talk” by being publicly vaccinated
against Covid-19.
The organisation believes this will garner trust within congregations.
The SACC briefed the media on Monday morning to address vaccine hesitancy within the church community.
Secretary-general Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana says public inoculations will help build trust among congregants and broader society.
“Church leaders have an important role to play in communication about the vaccine and getting people to be vaccinated. Having church leaders publicly support the vaccine is very important.
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“When church leaders get vaccinated in public, they make a difference in the public that way they can help restore trust in vaccines amongst their congregants and the broader society.”
The imminent Covid-19 vaccine campaign has received a cool reception by some religious South Africans, amid a variety of conspiracy theories around the substance of the vaccines.
Some have also blamed 5G technology for the emergence of the deadly virus.
However, Mpumlwana said an inoculation should be seen as an “act of charity to our communities and an act of love to our neighbours”.
