By SAT News Desk
MELBOURNE, 30 August 2021: The Siri Guru Nanak Durbar Sikh Temple, Officer has launched a community campaign to motivate the community to get vaccinated to fight the COVID-19 virus pandemic. To promote this cause an online discussion was done through Zoon on 28 August 2021.
The main speaker at the Zoom event was Mr. Jason Wood, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety, and Multicultural Affairs among others. Mr. Wood stressed the only way to get out of the current situation in Australia is by vaccinations. He mentioned the vaccination targets and how Australia is tracking its way to meet these before lockdowns and borders can be re-opened.
After the keynote address, the audience was shown two videos: Australian Covid- 19 Vaccine Roadmap and An appeal to be vaccinated prepared by children of Siri Guru Nanak Darbar, Officer.
Also present during the online event was Dr. Sukanya Muraledaran, a GP based in Wheeler’s Hill, Victoria. Dr. Muraledaran presented an excellent overview of the vaccination process and the efficiency of the available vaccines. She stressed the importance of getting vaccinated for a safe return to normal life.
Various themes discussed included motivation and hesitancy to vaccinate, fake news, becoming role models. Most participants agreed that there was a dire need to demystify various fake news going around in this digital age where information is being shared without assessing the authenticity of the information.
Several interesting comments were shared during this discussion. “The major motivation to get vaccinated is to care for others including your own family members”, posted Mr. Sarabjit Giddey.
Mr. Subbu posted “Hesitation to vaccinate is due to 7.2 billion people trying to compare apples with oranges and mangoes around the world and getting confused with the science. As Dr. Sukanya mentioned, people have lost trust after getting bombarded with so many of unconnected data points in the world.”
Other participants suggested the need to become role models to encourage those sitting on the fence. Community leaders Mr. Sunny Duggal, Ms. Nayana Bhandari, Ms. Gurinder Kaur, Mr. Brijal Parikh, and many others expressed their views and appreciated SGND’s initiative to organize this community forum.
Mr. Harpreet Singh thanked all who attended the meeting and also provided information about the role Siri Guru Nanak Darbar was playing in the current pandemic such as providing food relief, translating updated information, and providing support
