Community leaders in western Sydney are using social media, YouTube and radio to push messages about the importance of social distancing and vaccination safety to residents in their own languages.
But with a shortage of Pfizer vaccines, the biggest challenge they face is persuading people to put aside their fears about taking AstraZeneca.
Carmen Lazar from the Assyrian Resource Centre in Fairfield has enlisted a group of medical experts to address misunderstandings, including conspiracy theories about the safety of vaccines. The experts, including a respiratory physician, GP, pharmacist and dental surgeon, will speak at a seminar on Zoom through the Assyrian Resource Centre Facebook page at 6.30pm on Saturday.
People wait for there COVID-19 vaccination at a pop-up clinic in Glenwood, Sydney.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Ms Lazar said she was confident more people in the community would get vaccinated after having their questions about the safety of vaccinations answered in their own language. She has been on community radio talking about the importance of vaccination and says she has addressed fears about the risks of blood clotting associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in this way:
The Australian Sikh Association has been distributing messages about safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If your boat is sinking, would you say what sort of lifejacket do you want to wear? Regardless of the brand, it is an injection and it is important that we all have it,” she said.
“I had AstraZeneca straight away. I took a picture and shared it with my community.”
NSW Health had translated messages in local languages and these have been distributed through social media. Elderly community members had been personally contacted.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday gave a “huge shout out” to people living in the Fairfield local government area, thanking them for their efforts in “doing the right thing”.
Real-time translations of the daily COVID-19 press conferences were translated in Vietnamese and Arabic from Monday in partnership with SBS for people to watch on Facebook in response to growing cases in Sydney’s west.
Jatinder Singh, director of media and publications for the Australian Sikh Association, said the main concern for migrants related to the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. He said he was confident the message about social distancing and staying at home had been heard after being constantly repeated.
Mr Singh said more people in the Sikh community might be persuaded to take the AstraZeneca vaccine if they saw more community leaders including MPs setting the example.
“We are getting hundreds of calls from people saying we want to get vaccinated, but not with the AstraZeneca,” he said. “When we see leaders getting Pfizer instead of AstraZeneca, it is not helpful.”
Mr Singh said his organisation had been distributing messages to community members about the importance of social distancing on multiple projection screens at the Sikh temple in Glenwood, on YouTube, radio and Facebook. One of the Facebook messages has featured a 73-year-old saying if not for yourself wash your hands for “biji”, which means grandmother.
Ergun Genel, general manager of the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque said demand for the Pfizer vaccine had increased during the lockdown but “people don’t want the AstraZeneca” because of the small number of deaths associated with the rare blood clotting disorder.
“I don’t know how we are going to convince people to take AstraZeneca,” he said.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Monday said it was “quite distressing to see how few over 60-year-olds or over 70-year-olds we have managed to reach” with the message about vaccination.
She encouraged anyone in Sydney to consider AstraZeneca.
“It is a very effective vaccine. I can’t stress it enough: I have been vaccinated, my mother-in-law has been vaccinated and my husband has been vaccinated with AstraZeneca,” she said.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Saturday advised all adults in the Greater Sydney area to “strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine” including the AstraZeneca vaccine. This was on the basis of an increasing risk of COVID-19 and supply constraints on the Pfizer vaccine.
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Anna Patty is a Senior Writer for The Sydney Morning Herald with a focus on higher education. She is a former Workplace Editor, Education Editor, State Political Reporter and Health Reporter.
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2021-07-26 19:00:00Z
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