Debate on vaccines is now becoming ever more popular and apparent in our additions to the Faith and COVID-19 repository. In a recent episode of the Religious Studies Podcast, panelist Ray Kim talks about an article discussing halal vaccines. The article discusses the intricacies of porcine DNA in vaccines and whether it is detectable (to the level of marking certain vaccines haram), the pandemic as an emergency situation that allows for different provisions, and reports that there are organizations working on halal certificates for vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine. Conversations hosted on the Religious Studies Podcast over the last eight months on the intersections of religions and COVID-19 have taken a conversational tone to discuss the early months of the pandemic, festivals, and now the run up to Christmas and vaccinations. Explore a full list of their podcasts, covering everything from artificial intelligence and religion to decolonizing the study of religions.
 
COVID-19 vaccines were also debated among Christian denominations this week, with RNS summarizing the opinions of several prominent theologians and ethicists, including those from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Christian Medical and Dental Association, who have stated it is moral to use the upcoming COVID-19 vaccines.
 
Health and science journals continue to host letters and articles calling on their readers to pay serious attention to the roles of religions in their work. Sima Barmania and Michael J. Reiss have published three such articles in Nature India, Scientific American, and the journal Global Health Promotion. In Scientific American and Nature, their message underlines the links, rather than the divides, between science and religion. In Global Health Promotion, they highlight the need for health promotion tactics to understand people’s “worldviews” that include their religious beliefs, rather than seeing religion as a barrier. 
 
United Way is partnering with Black clergy in U.S. cities to model exactly how health and religion can come together, building on a program designed and used with Black churches for the response to HIV/AIDS in the 1980s. The initiative “will involve the establishment of leadership roles at participating churches with responsibility to coordinate testing, tracing and connection of virus-positive people with health care.” The Anglican Communion has released a report detailing all the ways Angclican churches around the world have been responding to COVID-19, from providing food to communities to caring for the sick and dying. 
 
ACT Alliance convened a multi-stakeholder action event to address COVID-19. The event asked how we can build a new social contract that honors the dignity of every human being. High-level speakers including Dr. Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA, and Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, CEO of Christian Aid, affirmed their understanding of the importance of religious actor involvement in COVID-19 response. Prof. Azza Karam, secretary general of Religions for Peace, called for faith-based organizations (FBOs) to improve their methods of working together, rather than in competition. 

Religions for Peace is involved in one such joint effort with UNICEF and the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI is the co-producer of this weekly email), working on communications with faith actors around COVID-19 response. This group effort reported on the results of the first of a series of online events that will help religious leaders counter misinformation when it comes to COVID-19.