(Illustrative) An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man receives a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a temporary vaccination centre in the Jewish community of Beitar Illit in the West Bank. Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

Jewish leaders and health officials have launched a fresh effort to persuade sections of London’s Orthodox Jewish population to vaccinate against COVID-19, as newly-released data showed that 20 percent of those in the community who are seriously ill with the virus are unvaccinated pregnant women.

A leaflet distributed by the government-run National Health Service (NHS) in the London borough of Hackney, which is home to a large Haredi population, warned of the deadly risks posed by the pandemic to both a mother and her unborn child.

Hackney “has some of the lowest vaccine take-up rates in the UK, falling below half of residents in a number of wards with large Orthodox Jewish populations,” the London-based Jewish Chronicle reported on Wednesday.

Myths and conspiracy theories spread by anti-vaccination activists are said to be “pervasive” in parts of the community, including the false claim that vaccination can fatally harm pregnancies.

A local community leader who chose to remain anonymous told the JC that “conspiracy rubbish” had been embraced by some community members “hook, line and sinker, and sadly, this is having a negative effect on people’s health.”

The community leader added: “Many women are under the illusion that vaccination can affect fertility, pregnancy and birth. There are anti-vaxxers who are in overdrive.”

An accompanying article in the JC by Dr. Leonora Weil — a Jewish doctor who is part of London’s COVID-19 response team — reiterated that “senior doctors from across the health system strongly recommend Covid vaccination in pregnancy.”

“We know there are higher risks to mother and baby of having Covid whilst pregnant,” Dr. Weil wrote. “Mothers-to-be have greater risk of serious illness with higher rates of intensive care admissions.”

Seeking to reassure those who may have fallen sway to anti-vaccination messaging, Weil emphasized that “vaccination is the safest way for women to protect themselves and their babies against severe disease. The vaccines do not contain live virus so cannot infect a mother or baby and do not contain ingredients known to be harmful in pregnancy.”

Joel Friedman, of the Haredi charity Interlink Foundation, said that steps were being taken to “encourage people of all ages to get vaccinated or have the booster. Leaders are working closely with Hackney Council and the North East London Clinical Commissioning Group to encourage uptake and Hatzola [the Jewish medical response service] are continuing to play a vital role in communicating the importance of the vaccine.”

The campaign to raise awareness among pregnant women was “already proving successful,” Friedman said.