Our Chicago: Town hall with Chicago religious leaders addresses trust, safety around COVID-19 vaccines

Moderated by ABC7's Alan Krashesky

ByABC 7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Thursday, April 8, 2021
Our Chicago: Religious leaders address COVID-19 vaccines
ABC7's Alan Krashesky moderates a discussion with Chicago religious leaders about trust and safety around COVID-19 vaccines.

CHICAGO (WLS) -- ABC 7, Chicago's Number One station for news, presented a virtual town hall with a diverse group of Chicago religious leaders to address the myths, misinformation, and unfounded rumors in their communities surrounding the COVID-19 vaccine.

ABC 7 Eyewitness News Anchor/Reporter Alan Krashesky moderated the hour-long event, OUR CHICAGO: VOICES OF THE COMMUNITY, on abc7chicago.com Thursday, April 8 at 2:00 PM.

In some communities, people continue to distrust the science that says the COVID-19 vaccine is safe. Alan Krashesky lead an important conversation with the head of the Archdiocese of Chicago's COVID-19 Task Force and leaders from other religious faith traditions.

Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders are working across boundaries to allay fears and help the vulnerable in their congregations protect themselves, their families and their communities by getting vaccinated. We will hear how these leaders are deploying various strategies and messaging opportunities to gain the necessary trust and support for this critical public health imperative.

Guest panelists:

-Rabbi Wendi Geffen, North Shore Congregation Israel

-Justin Lombardo, Archdiocese of Chicago

-Bishop Horace E. Smith, M.D., Apostolic Faith Church

The virtual town hall was also exclusively streamed live on ABC 7's Facebook Live, YouTube, ABC 7's app and ABC 7's connected TV apps on Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV and Roku.

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About ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago

ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago is the No. 1 local news source and most-watched television station in Chicago. With top-rated daily newscasts spanning decades and the largest social media presence in the market with more than 2.3 million Facebook followers, ABC7 Eyewitness News provides breaking news, investigative reporting, weather, politics, traffic and sports in the multiplatform space to Chicago, the suburbs and northwest Indiana. Named Best News Operation by the Associated Press for four consecutive years, the station produces 41 hours of local news weekly and Chicago's only local weekday entertainment talk show, "Windy City LIVE," as well as its highest-rated New Year's Eve special. ABC7's award-winning programs such as "Heart and Soul," "The Ñ Beat" and "Asian Influences" showcase the city's diversity, while being the only Chicago station producing and broadcasting parades representing Chicago's rich cultural history. In addition to producing town halls focused on current social issues, the station has a long and proud tradition of broadcasting political candidate debates keeping Chicago's electorate informed. ABC7's outreach efforts include annual partnerships with the Red Cross for life-saving blood drives and, most recently, spearheading an effort to raise more than $1.5 million for area food pantries.

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