Srinagar: Mutahida Majlis-e-Ulema (MMU), an amalgam of leading socio-religious organisations in Jammu and Kashmir, on Monday appealed to the people in the Union Territory to take COVID-19 jabs, saying the effectiveness of the vaccination as a means of protection from the disease is well established.
The MMU is led by Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
It said the members of the medical fraternity of the Valley have conveyed their serious concern to it that many people, especially in Srinagar, are reluctant to be vaccinated hence putting their lives, the lives of their family members and that of the community at large, at great risk.
“As per data made available to the organisation, in Srinagar, out of seven lakh people who are 18 years and above, only approximately 2,90,000 have been vaccinated which is less than even 50 percent,” it said in a statement.
The MMU said according to the data, out of the total 798 Covid deaths in Srinagar, 98 percent were of those who were not vaccinated at all.
“This goes to show that vaccination is a protection against Covid complications and death. This data also shows that among 15,000 healthcare staff and 50,000 frontline government staff who received both doses of vaccine, none developed Covid pneumonia and no one died or had any vaccine reaction,” the organisation said.
“Last year 15 healthcare members died because of Covid. So, the effectiveness of vaccination as a means of protection from Covid-19, is well established,” it said.
The MMU said the unreasonable reluctance among many for voluntary vaccination, especially in some parts of Srinagar, needs to be shunned by one and all.
“This is imperative so that normal life in terms of business, education, religion and travel that has been severely curtailed by the pandemic is resumed & the population of the valley is well protected for a possible third wave,” it said.
The MMU said the organisation and its chairman reiterate the appeal to people to get vaccinated as soon as possible and observe the Covid SOPs by wearing masks and maintaining social distance so that the pandemic can be overcome as soon as possible.
