Religious leaders try to persuade skeptics to get vaccinated

An initiative has been launched by local religious community leaders to encourage people to get vaccinated in time as authorities are concerned about growing vaccine hesitancy among people who have refused to get jabbed even though their turn has come.

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Local religious leaders, known as mele in Turkey's east, have been trying to persuade people who have grown skeptical towards getting vaccinated especially as eastern provinces mostly lack behind with vaccination rates compared to the rest of the country.

Speaking to Demirören News Agency, Tayyip Elçi, chairman of the Madrasah Scholars Foundation (MEDAV), called on all citizens to be vaccinated.

Pointing out that the opinions of experts should be respected in order to reach a decision on any issue in Islamic law, Elçi said that it is necessary to act in line with the decision made by specialist doctors since the coronavirus is a medical issue.

"We encourage and invite everyone to get vaccinated as religious officials, preachers, scholars, and opinion leaders," Elçi said, stressing the necessity of every citizen to be vaccinated in order to protect himself and society from this disease.

"The fact that Diyarbakir and the eastern and southeastern Anatolia provinces are still red when we look at the map, that is, the areas where the least vaccination is administered, really offends us," he added.

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Data from the Health Ministry show that only 35 percent of the population aged above 18 have received the first shot of vaccine in the eastern province of Bitlis, while the corresponding rates are 36 percent in Şanlıurfa province and a little over 37 percent in Mardin province.

These provinces are followed by neighboring Siirt, Diyarbakır, Muş, Batman and...

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