MIWF conducts Covid vaccination drives and awareness campaigns
A team of volunteers and religious scholars (Ulema) from Minhaj Interfaith and Welfare Foundation is working to get people in Muslim dominated areas of Mumbai vaccinated against Covid-19 by conducting awareness campaigns and vaccination drives. They have asked scholars to use Friday sermons to make announcements about vaccination and address the common myths about the vaccine. They have helped dispel the taboo around Covid-19 vaccination among the Muslim community in Dharavi, Govandi, Wadala and Sewree areas of Mumbai.
Zubair Ahmed, VP MIWF stated that, “The vaccination drives have been going on in these areas since last 6 months but the turnout was very low. Our team carried out awareness campaigns in these areas with the help of religious scholars and social workers and the vaccine hesitancy is gradually reducing. We have done 5 mass vaccination drives in these areas so far and the response has been very good.”
MIWF volunteer Irshad Ali said that ,“There was a lot of misinformation among people about vaccination and the effects it will have. We worked with local Muslim scholars and asked them to speak about the importance of Covid vaccination. The campaign is showing results as more and more people are now coming forward to get vaccinated.”
Doctors and medical staff from Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital that conducted the vaccination included: Komal Gupta, Anil Gaikwad, Akshay Boricha, Vinod Kharat, Archana Diwedi, Sneha Dhabolkan, Dr. Hasmeet.
MIWF volunteers who coordinated and helped in smooth functioning of the event were: Fayyaz Shaikh, Irshad Ali Khan, Khadim Hussain, Fehmida Ayub A Siddique, Imdad Khan, Abdul Jafar Shaikh, Arvind Gaud, Nasib Khan, Asrar Bhai, Fatima Jamirullah and Niyaz Khan.
