LONDON: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has received his first coronavirus vaccine and urged members of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups to follow suit.
“Love that as a Mayor of Islamic faith, I received my COVID vaccine at a local church,” he tweeted. “This is London: our diversity is our strength.”
He told Sky News that he was “delighted, relieved and incredibly grateful” to receive the vaccine.
“My message is very simple: When you’re invited to receive the jab, please say yes,” said Khan, who was entitled to get vaccinated before others in his age group because he has severe asthma.
His comments come as the UK grapples with lower vaccine uptake among its minority communities.
Higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among Muslim communities nationwide have been recorded by medical groups, and community-based campaigns have been launched to address the issue.
Imams and other Muslim leaders across the country have been vocal in their belief that getting vaccinated is safe and the right thing to do, and have opened their doors to work with the UK’s health care services in administering vaccines in mosques.
They have also worked hard to address what some have referred to as a “wildfire” of misinformation surrounding the religious permissibility of the COVID-19 vaccines, for example by addressing the falsehood that the ingredients make it forbidden.
Khan’s well-publicized vaccination is likely to be seen as part of the wider British effort to placate religious concerns over the vaccine, as well as dispelling myths or worries about the potential physical side effects.
“I wouldn’t be taking the jab if I didn’t think it was safe,” he said, adding that if people have concerns they should “speak to people (they) trust — your GP, your pharmacist, your local vicar or imam or your rabbi — because they’ll tell you this vaccine is safe, it’s gone through a robust regulatory system, it’s been properly tested and it will save millions and millions of lives.”
London mayor takes COVID-19 vaccine, urges UK minorities to follow suit
https://arab.news/cpnn4
London mayor takes COVID-19 vaccine, urges UK minorities to follow suit
- Sadiq Khan: “I wouldn’t be taking the jab if I didn’t think it was safe”
- Britain’s Muslims have higher rates of vaccine hesitancy, partly due to misinformation
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
