Imam Osman Boyaci says religious leaders at the Gallipoli Mosque have been providing assistance and comfort where they can.

Imam Osman Boyaci says religious leaders at the Gallipoli Mosque have been providing assistance and comfort where they can.Credit:Rhett Wyman

Similarly,the Gurdwara Sahib in Glenwood is providing a pop-up vaccination clinic,as well as other services including serving up to 500 meals to those in need,as well as rental assistance,grocery deliveries,and a Zoom workout session for elderly people.

Gallipoli Mosque’s Imam Osman Boyaci said it was mostly the elderly that were fearful of the virus,and religious leaders were comforting them and keeping them up to date with advice from NSW Health.

“People are genuinely scared,but ... we as a community help each other,” he said. “You can’t leave it to chance. Life comes with its struggles,but it is about learning how to bear it - smiles and frowns. That’s life.”

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Fairfield Assyrian Cultural and Social Youth Association executive director Ramsin Edward said community leaders had a role in encouraging the community to get jabbed.

“There’s been a huge push from our leadership to the community to say,‘look at the facts and don’t be afraid,’” he said.

While social media could play a large role in spreading positive vaccine messages,thegovernment’s recent COVID-19 ad had done more harm than good,he said.

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“Imagery like that doesn’t encourage the community to get vaccines,it just creates more fear. The government should educate the community on how vaccines are made,what research goes into them,how they have been tested,how long they have been tested and what is the science telling us about side effects,” he said.

“It’s a matter of the younger generation stepping in,reading the facts and educating the older generations. The only way we’ll come out of this is if we work together. It will take time.”

Focus groups commissioned by the NSW Council of Social Service with representatives from culturally and linguistically diverse communities in western Sydney and regional NSW found a significant portion were vaccine-hesitant – with Facebook the most-cited source of news about the vaccine.

In the small survey of 167 respondents from primarily South-Asian,East-Asian,Arabic and European backgrounds,58 per cent said they would receive the COVID-19 vaccine. However,13 per cent said they would not receive a shot and 29 per cent said they were unsure or hesitant.

Reasons for hesitancy included concern about the very rare blood clotting condition associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as beliefs the vaccine would cause illness or had not been properly tested.

Forty-one per cent of respondents listed Facebook as their primary source of information about the vaccine.

The council’s CEO Joanna Quilty said the result highlighted the need for “authentic,tailored and targeted” communication for culturally and linguistically diverse groups.

Associate Professor Holly Seale,an infectious disease social scientist at the University of NSW,said differences between vaccination rates among culturally and linguistically diverse communities and the general population existed before the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

“There could be a whole range of other elements here at play – navigating the system may be challenging,there may be people who are mistrusting of health systems,” she said.

However,Dr Seale saidfrequently changing health advice regarding the vaccines had created confusion.

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“The ever-changing dialogue around the different vaccines is a challenge,it takes time to have that translated and then again for it to seep into communities,” she said.

Dr Seale said her conversations with multicultural communities in Sydney had revealed community radio and Facebook messaging was what leaders desired most,but the method of booking in for a COVID-19 vaccine was also difficult for some people:the federal government’s online vaccine eligibility checker,for example,is only published in English.

“While we know misinformation is out there,I wonder how much it is impacting uptake as opposed to just the logistical difficulty of booking an appointment.”

Minister for Multiculturalism Natalie Ward said the government would roll out a targeted health campaign in almost 60 languages ensuring clear communication when it came to COVID-19. The campaign will include religious,community and multicultural online media forums,online videos promoting the stay-at-home message and outreach work by the local health districts.

“No matter what language we speak,it is critical all members of our community understand the public health advice,” Mrs Ward said.

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