Alone, we can only do so much, but together, we can change the world. This mentality drives us in all that we do. The Religious Forum Against COVID-19 (RFAC) is an inter-faith collaboration, bringing together people of different religions and backgrounds in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of our fight against the pandemic, we encourage South Africans – and the rest of the world – to get vaccinated. We also advocate the use of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPI) that include wearing your mask, washing your hands, and maintaining social distancing.

The team driving the movement

Standing together to fight the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic are The Muslim Judicial Council, The South African Hindu Maha Sabha (SAHMS), The Office of the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Council of Muslim Theologians (Jamiatul Ulama), The South African Council of Church (SACC), The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa (TEASA), Believers in Christ, Council of African Independent Churches, International Federation of Christian Churches, Nazareth Baptist Church (Shembe, Thembezinhle), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and The Bantu Church of Christ.

The purpose of this forum is to come together to share what is working in our environments and to learn from each other in order to adapt in our own contexts to protect our families and communities from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our aim is to enhance understanding around vaccines so that South African citizens can make an informed decision when it comes to getting vaccinated.

We strive to increase social solidarity amongst our people to promote the value of mutual care.

We are in this together as we have all had to make adjustments to our faith practices, curbing family and community festivities, in order to fight against the pandemic. This sacrifice is worthwhile and understandable as long as we continue to take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves, our families and our communities.

We encourage all of our inter-faith members to rise up and take a stand against COVID-19 by doing what you can; get vaccinated and continue to take non-pharmaceutical precautions such as wearing masks, sanitising and practicing social distancing as a ritual of our daily living.

The reality of the vaccination process

To help alleviate vaccination fears, Roger Dickinson the National LEANs Coordinator at the South African Council of Churches has shared his experience with us. He has had both vaccinations, and although he had fears about the possible side effects, he decided to take a leap of faith.

Roger received his second vaccination from the Witpoortjie vaccination centre, and the entire process only took an hour and a half. After the jab, he felt drowsy and experienced some pain in his arm, but all in all, the experience wasn’t all too bad. He does, however, recommend taking a day off work to get the vaccine or try to get it on a Friday to accommodate any potential side effects.

“The vaccine is the only way we know we can protect ourselves from the virus. Research from across the world is verifying that the vaccine dramatically reduces the chances of hospitalization and death from COVID-19,” says Roger. “For South Africa to get back to any kind of normal, we need the majority of people (70%+) to be vaccinated. We are all in this together,” he concludes.

If you haven’t already, visit https://vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za/#/ to register for the vaccine. #GetTheJab

The role played by South Africans

A recent study has found that 72% of South African adults are eligible for vaccination. Within this group, only 10% were vaccinated in July with 49% stating that they would get vaccinated and 12% saying that they would more than likely end up doing that. Even if 49% of these people do get vaccinated, our numbers are not nearly enough to fight this. We need to continue educating the nation on the pandemic as well as the vaccination – it is the only way we will be able to win the war on the virus.

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