Sikh leaders celebrate upcoming holiday with vaccine clinic

LONDON (AP) — Sikh leader Balwinder Singh Basra rolled up his sleeve to get a COVID-19 vaccine Sunday at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Luton, north of London. And he wanted everyone to know about it.

Unlike most of the 756,873 people who received injections Sunday in the U.K., Basra, the gurdwara’s president, invited reporters and TV news to watch his shot to make sure the community would take notice.

“I say to everyone. ‘I took the vaccine this morning and everyone should take the vaccine and save the (National Health Service),’” said Basra, who wore a vibrant saffron turban for the occasion.

While politicians such as Prime Minister Boris Johnson have shown up for camera-ready coronavirus jabs, local efforts are far more important in combatting the hesitancy of some people in minority ethnic communities to get vaccinated, according to Gurch Randhawa, a professor of diversity in public health at the University of Bedfordshire.

In Luton, the Sikh community decided the best way to celebrate the upcoming holy festival of Vaisakhi was with a vaccination clinic, which embodies the faith's principles of equality, justice and service. The festival is normally marked with prayers and large processions, but those celebrations will be curtailed by COVID-19 restrictions.

Forty people got shots on Sunday, and another 40 are scheduled for next week.

“Vaisakhi is all about Sikhs carrying out selfless service, and what better selfless service than opening up a pop-up clinic that reaches out to anybody of any religion,’’ said Randhawa, who helped organize the event. “So today, we have got people from the Muslim faith, the Christian faith, Sikhs, all coming in to be vaccinated.”

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