Asking the Clergy: Are we morally obligated to widen COVID-19 vaccine access?

In a recent speech from the Vatican, Pope Francis suggested that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 was "a moral obligation" and repeated his call for universal access to the shots, urging a change in patent laws so nations with low vaccination rates could develop their own vaccines, according to published reports. This week’s clergy discuss why getting the vaccine into as many arms as possible is imperative from a Jewish, Unitarian Universalist and medical ethics perspective.

The Rev. Jaye Brooks

Developmental Minister, Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, Manhasset

In the Unitarian Universalist tradition, the answer to this question is a clear "yes." One of our core principles is respect for the inherent worth of every person. To honor this principle, it’s not enough to be tolerant or even appreciative of others. We have an obligation to build a more just and humane world so that every person can live a meaningful and satisfying life.

Not dying is an essential pre-condition for a meaningful life. People everywhere (not all, but many) seek vaccination to protect their own health and the health of others — so that they don’t die. The issue isn’t whether government or employers can require vaccination. In some countries, vaccines are unavailable or too costly to meet the need.

If Unitarian Universalists are serious about building a better world, then we must be serious about making vaccines available to all. It’s not just a moral obligation. It’s a religious imperative. It means that those who are financially able should contribute to organizations that supply vaccines to countries where they are lacking. And there’s a duty to advocate for and to encourage our elected representatives to supply vaccines to countries in deep need of them.

Rabbi Joel M. Levenson

Midway Jewish Center, Syosset

We — the government and nongovernmental organizations — have a moral obligation to make COVID-19 vaccines more widely available.

My daughter, an eighth-grader at Schechter School of Long Island who is involved in a pre-engineering program, shared with me a story about Norah Magero, a woman in Kenya who invented a solar-powered refrigerator, which fits on the back of a bicycle, to store and transport vaccines. Magero has been nominated for the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Africa Prize. Her work is about vaccine access, and her invention can save lives.

According to Jewish law, Jews have an obligation, with medical guidance, to be vaccinated against COVID-19. We have this obligation because it is a mitzvah to protect our own health and the health of others. This pandemic has taken more than 850,000 lives in the United States and more than 5,500,000 lives worldwide. After receiving my vaccine, and when my kids got theirs, I recited the Shehecheyanu blessing, thanking God for "keeping us in life, sustaining us and helping us to reach this joyous moment."

Let us work together to enable as many people as possible to share the same sacred moment.

The Rev. Donna Marie Field

Senior minister, St. Paul’s Reformed Church in North Babylon, and Northwell Health clinical medical ethics consultant

I believe the COVID-19 vaccine is widely available in the United States, so the question that needs to be answered is "why do so many people profess vaccine hesitancy?" I have heard so many patients explain their reasoning, much of it misinformed based on what they hear in the media as well as read on social media.

As a bi-vocational clergy person,for whom a great deal of time is spent in a hospital system, I am struggling to educate patients who come to the hospital and are fearful that they will not get the "proper treatment." Their view of "proper treatment" is based on the information they get from whatever media sources they listen to, some of it harmful. Public health education is at a crisis right now, and clergy have a moral obligation to educate themselves by partnering with the local hospital systems to bring the appropriate information to those they are spiritually leading.

One can only wonder whether, if the faith communities are able to be a public health bridge, would they be able to influence civic organizations and other secular groups as well?