Soni Gopal Krishna, Bhatnagar Anumegha, Gupta Anil, Kumari Amrita, Arora Sonal, Seth Surbhi, Rastogi Apurva, Kanagat Natasha, Fields Rebecca
John Snow India Pvt. Ltd. (JSIPL)-Plot No. 5 & 6, First Floor Allied House, Pocket 10, Sector B, Vasant Kunj, Delhi 110070, India.
John Snow Inc., 2733 Crystal Drive, 4th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202, USA.
Vaccines (Basel). 2023 Apr 13;11(4):837. doi: 10.3390/vaccines11040837.
Mass vaccination, currently the most promising solution to contain communicable diseases, including COVID-19 requires collaboration between a variety of partners to improve the supply and demand and alleviate vaccine inequity. Vaccine hesitancy features in WHO's list of top 10 threats to global health, and there is plethora of disinformation instigating conflict between COVID-19 vaccination drive and religious sentiments. Negotiating public health partnerships with FBOs (Faith Based Organizations) has always been challenging. A handful of faith leaders have always shown resistance to ideas such as child immunization, and family planning. Many others have been supportive on other fronts like helping people with food, shelter, and medical aid in the times of public health crisis. Religion is an important part of life for the majority of the Indian population. People confide in faith-based leaders in the times of difficulty. This article presents experiences from the strategic engagement with FBOs (entities dedicated to specific religious identities, often including a social or moral component) to promote uptake of COVID-19 vaccination, especially among the vulnerable and marginalized communities. The project team collaborated with 18 FBOs and more than 400 religious institutions to promote COVID-19 vaccination and build confidence for the vaccination program. As a result, a sustainable network of sensitized FBOs from diverse faiths was created. The FBOs mobilized and facilitated vaccination of 0.41 million beneficiaries under the project.
大规模疫苗接种是目前控制包括新冠病毒病在内的传染病最有前景的解决方案，这需要各类合作伙伴共同协作，以改善供需情况并缓解疫苗分配不均的问题。疫苗犹豫是世界卫生组织列出的全球健康十大威胁之一，而且存在大量虚假信息煽动新冠病毒疫苗接种行动与宗教情感之间的冲突。与基于信仰的组织（FBOs）协商公共卫生伙伴关系一直具有挑战性。一些宗教领袖一直抵制儿童免疫和计划生育等理念。许多其他宗教领袖在其他方面则给予支持，比如在公共卫生危机时期帮助人们解决食物、住所和医疗援助问题。宗教是大多数印度人口生活的重要组成部分。人们在困难时期会向基于信仰的领袖倾诉。本文介绍了与基于信仰的组织（致力于特定宗教身份的实体，通常包括社会或道德成分）进行战略接触以促进新冠病毒疫苗接种，特别是在弱势群体和边缘化社区中的接种情况的经验。项目团队与18个基于信仰的组织和400多个宗教机构合作，以促进新冠病毒疫苗接种并增强人们对疫苗接种计划的信心。结果，创建了一个由来自不同宗教的有认知的基于信仰的组织组成的可持续网络。在该项目下，基于信仰的组织动员并协助为41万受益人接种了疫苗。
