and be sure to share it with your family, friends, and wider sangat.
As a reminder, immigration status should not affect an individual’s access to getting vaccinated. According to the
Kaiser Family Foundation, states are collecting information from individuals receiving the vaccine to "monitor uptake, ensure dose matching and appropriate timing for the second dose, and assess vaccine effectiveness and safety." Moreover,
according to CDC’s vaccine administration data agreement, the use of vaccine administration data will be limited to completing work in furtherance of the public health response to COVID-19 and not for other purposes, including immigration enforcement. The Sikh Coalition will continue to monitor for any news regarding the relationship between citizenship status and vaccinations, and we will provide updates accordingly.
There is understandably lots of confusion around the vaccines, and of course, plenty of misinformation circulating about vaccines in general. And while it will take time to get everyone vaccinated, this is our surest path to recovery from the pandemic that has ravaged our nation for the past year. Though we are not a public health organization, this is why we are continuing to pivot our resources to this work: Together, we must all do our part to keep ourselves and our communities safe.
As always, the Sikh Coalition urges you to practice your faith fearlessly.
The Sikh Coalition, in collaboration with the North American Sikh Medical and Dental Association (NASMDA), the Sikh Family Center, and the Jakara Movement, is working to ensure that all Sikh Americans have access to information and resources regarding vaccinations for COVID-19. While we are not a public health organization, we are pursuing this work so that we can all do our part to keep ourselves and our communities safe. Please visit our website for more resources, email community@sikhcoalition.org with any questions about this work, and always consult your doctor with specific inquiries about your personal health.