Sadiq Khan: “I wouldn’t be taking the jab if I didn’t think it was safe” Britain’s Muslims have higher rates of vaccine hesitancy, partly due to misinformation LONDON: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has received his first coronavirus vaccine and urged members of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups to follow suit. “Love that as a Mayor of Islamic faith, I received my COVID vaccine at a local church,” he tweeted. “This is London: our diversity is our strength.” He told Sky News that he was “delighted, relieved and incredibly grateful” to receive the vaccine. “My message is very simple: When you’re invited to receive the jab, please say yes,” said Khan, who was entitled to get vaccinated before others in his age group because he has severe asthma. His comments come as the UK grapples with lower vaccine uptake among its minority communities. Higher rates of vaccine hesitancy among Muslim communities nationwide have been recorded by medical groups, and community-based campaigns have been launched to address the issue. Imams and other Muslim leaders across the country have been vocal in their belief that getting vaccinated is safe and the right thing to do, and have opened their doors to work with the UK’s health care services in administering vaccines in mosques. They have also worked hard to address what some have referred to as a “wildfire” of misinformation surrounding the religious permissibility of the COVID-19 vaccines, for example by addressing the falsehood that the ingredients make it forbidden. Khan’s well-publicized vaccination is likely to be seen as part of the wider British effort to placate religious concerns over the vaccine, as well as dispelling myths or worries about the potential physical side effects. “I wouldn’t be taking the jab if I didn’t think it was safe,” he said, adding that if people have concerns they should “speak to people (they) trust — your GP, your pharmacist, your local vicar or imam or your rabbi — because they’ll tell you this vaccine is safe, it’s gone through a robust regulatory system, it’s been properly tested and it will save millions and millions of lives.”