[...]

[Washington National Cathedral]

[March 16, 2021]

[Vaccine confidence event with the National Institutes of Health]

[Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci]

[Footsteps]

[...]

[Randy Hollerith:] Good afternoonand welcome to Washington

National Cathedral myname is Randy Hollerith

and I am the Deanof the cathedral.

And on behalf of BishopMariann Budde and all of us who

serve this wonderfulinstitution, it's

our pleasure to have you herewith us for this special event.

This cathedral is a houseof prayer for all people

and I am honored to standthis afternoon with many

of our brothers and sisters froma variety of different

faith traditions.

Our various traditionsas unique and special

as they have numerousthings in common.

And none more sothan what is commonly

called the Golden Rule.

Whether it's expressedas do unto others

as you would haveothers do unto you,

or that which you want foryourself seek for mankind,

or love yourneighbor as yourself.

This ethic of mutualregard and reciprocity

is fundamental to the vastmajority of faith traditions.

As such, what could be moreappropriate than for us

to gather today and encourageall people, especially

people of faith to make surethat they get vaccinated?

Not only to protect themselvesfrom COVID-19 but more

importantly, to help protectothers from this terrible

disease--

by increasing the levels ofimmunity within the population

and by helping to slow themutations of this virus

that have caused so many evenmore infectious variants.

As people of faith who arecalled to love and care

for our neighbors we should beleading the way in this effort.

And so we stand together or sittogether as the point may be,

to send a clear messagethat these vaccines are

a great blessing.

They are a greatblessing and we need

to take advantageof that blessing.

And we need to encourageothers to do the same.

So thank you for being withus and in a few minutes we'll

have some brief remarksfrom some special guests

that, I would like tothank for being here

and introduce to you.

The first is Melissa Rogerswho is the executive director

of the White House office offaith based and Neighborhood

Partnerships, soglad she's with us.

Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Stablewho's director of NIH's,

National Institute on MinorityHealth and Health Disparities.

Dr. Francis Collins,the director of NIH

and the man who needs nointroduction Dr. Anthony Fauci,

the director of the NationalInstitute of Allergy

and Infectious Disease.

I want to thank thoseof our special guests

for being with us.

Thank you so much.

[Applause]

Again, we're so thrilledthat you're here with us

and thanks to allthe jurisdictions

who have come in to supportthis event and to give vaccines.

It seems to me to be anincredible blessing from God

that we were able to get allof this together, so thank you.

Now, I'll turn this over tothe man who not only thought

of today's event but who'svery hard work made it possible

the Reverend Dr. Leonard Hamlinwho is our cathedral's

canon missioner.

Leonard.

[Footsteps]

[...]

[Dr. Leonard Hamlin:] Thank you.

Over the past yearwords such as community,

spirit, compassion, justice,and a host of other words

have been elevatedin our vocabulary.

The words aresignificant but they

have power only when theyare connected to our actions.

This evening we have gatheredin this space recognizing

the challenge ofthis moment but we've

come together embracingthe opportunities that

are in front of us.

It is important thatwe encourage everyone

who is able to get vaccinated.

Faith leaders, medical chiefs,managers, regional officials,

are all here that wemight not be defined

by the demographicsthat often divide us,

but we are here embracingthe truth that unites us.

A truth that is probablycharacterized best in words

that I've alwaysheard growing up

that, because of ourfaith the task ahead of us

is not as great as thepower that is behind us.

And so I remind us on today ofthe words of Robert Frost that

said, "two roadsdiverged in a wood,

and I took the oneless traveled by

and that has madethe difference."

Today, we have cometogether that we

might make a difference inthe moment in which lives

are at stake.

And we recognize today thateveryone needs to be counted.

And so the words of one who waslifted here years ago that we

all know well, it is true asMartin Luther King Jr said,

"in a real sense, alllife is interrelated,

all men are caught inan inescapable network

of mutuality, tied in asingle garment of destiny.

What affects one directlyaffects all indirectly,

we are all in this together."

And so I'm thankful todayto recognize the faces that

are on the platformthat are representing

the medical community,faith community,

as well as even theeducational community.

And on this day I'd like torecognize and say thank you

to county executive MarcElrich the county executive

of Montgomery County, Maryland.

I'd like to say thankyou to Dr. George Askew

deputy chiefadministration officer

for health and HumanServices Education

Prince George'sCounty, Maryland.

Dr. Joseph Wright,who is vice president

and chief medical officer of theUniversity of Maryland Capital

Health region.

Dr. Ankur Shah,principal Sr. Deputy

director District of Columbia,Department of Health.

I'd like to give a special thanks

to the Reverend Thomas Bowen,

the mayor's Officeof Religious Affairs

of the District of Columbia,who did a lot of heavy lifting

with me in this momentand reaching around

to help the cathedral to liveits mission, the Washington

National Cathedral.

I'd like to say thank you to Dr.Reuben Varghese, public health

director of ArlingtonCounty Virginia.

Councilman John Taylor Chapmanof Alexandria city council.

Dr. Hugh Mighty, Dean of HowardUniversity College of medicine

and Vice Presidentof clinical affairs.

Dr. ShellyMcDonald-Pinkett, who is

the interim chairof Internal Medicine

and chief medical officer ofHoward University Hospital.

Dr. Michael Crawfordassociate Dean

of Strategy, Outreach,and Innovation

of Howard University.

You've heard manynames as well as

different communitiesrepresented

but today we come as one.

Because the only way toachieve success in this moment

is by our reaching acrossand working together.

There is an oldAfrican proverb that

says, "If you want togo fast, go alone."

"But if you want togo far, go together."

Today we go together.

[...]

[Footsteps]

[Melissa Rogers:] Goodevening, everyone.

I'd like to thankNational Cathedral

for organizing thisterrific event tonight

and for invitingus to participate.

This is one great example of apartnership between government

and faith based organizations.

And as PresidentBiden has recognized,

faith based organizationscan play key roles in helping

Americans get vaccinated.

Let me mention just a fewreason government should

work with interestedreligious leaders and faith

based organization onvaccination efforts.

First, houses of worshipare pervasive and familiar

to many Americans.

Countless Americans are far morecomfortable getting their shot

in a house of worship than in apharmacy or a doctor's office.

Second, religious figuresare among the most

trusted community leaders.

So seeing congregationalleaders get vaccinated first

can relieve anxieties and fears.

The third reason why governmentand faith based organizations

should work togetherin this task,

is that faithbased organizations

are often highly skilled atreaching underserved people.

Indeed, congregationalleaders haven't simply

turned over their buildingsfor use as vaccination sites,

they're also manning the phonesto get people vaccinated.

They're providing transportationto vaccination sites

and doing so many other thingsto make this task one that

is doable for everyone.

Fourth, the vast majorityof religious leaders

are enthusiastic about helpingthe country get vaccinated.

Many clergy haveemphasized for example,

that getting the vaccine is away of loving our neighbors.

Fifth, governmentalpartnerships with faith leaders

to promote public healthare permitted not prohibited

by our constitution.

Indeed, partnerships withdiverse faith communities

can be a powerfulaffirmation of our pluralism

and our unity across ourdifferences in background

and belief.

So in some governmentalpartnerships with faith based

organizations can, and shouldbe part of the solution

to the COVID-19 challenge.

As President Bidenhas so often said,

"there's nothingthat Americans can't

do when we do it together."

Thank you.

[...]

[Footsteps]

[...]

[Dr. Francis Collins:] Good afternoon.

I'm Francis Collins, thedirector of the National

Institutes of Health,which we sometimes

like to call the NationalInstitutes of Hope.

And I'm certainly herein a hopeful way today.

Looking up at that stainedglass window in the twilight

reminded that I havea copy of that hanging

in my window in my home office,where I have essentially

been a hermit forthe last 12 months

trying to manage thelargest supporter

of biomedicalresearch in the world.

And I'm honored to bein this sacred space

again with these leadersof multiple faiths.

Let us all recognizethat the last year has

been one of struggle andof lament for all of us.

And yet we now havereasons for hope.

As a believer and a scientist,I can see the opportunity

to use the tools ofscience as a chance

to be part of God'splan for healing.

The vaccines have inmany ways for many people

been an answer to prayer.

They are safe andeffective beyond what

we had a right to expect.

And yet they willnot help people

by sitting on theshelf.  They need

to be injected into thearms of those who need them.

Unfortunately,many who could most

benefit becausethey are at highest

risk of serious and evenlife threatening infections,

are still holding back.

Worried about storiesthey hear, skeptical,

unimpressed by how governmenthas previously shown

interest in their medical care.

Skeptical.

The church can play a leadingrole by educating, modeling,

and encouraging that thereis nothing to fear here

and there's much to be gained.

That's what we arehere to do today.

Houses of worshipare houses of hope

here on this hill the NationalCathedral represents that.

And yes we all needhope at this time.

But hope alone isnot a strategy.

Today all of youare putting hope

into action, hope for an endto the terrible suffering

and loss of life from COVID-19.

Hope for an end to the economicdevastation it has caused.

Hope that the vaccine cannotonly protect you but also,

if we do this togetheryour family, your friends,

your community, yournation, your whole world.

This is a love your neighboropportunity to spread

that hope far and wide.

The Jewish tradition has ametaphor about community

that community is like a ship.

But if there's ahole in the lower

hold of the shipone does not say,

only the lower holdhas a hole in it

rather all must recognizethe risk of sinking.

So everyone works torepair that breach.

In order for us to get throughthis challenge of COVID-19

we must work together torepair any breaches that

might allow thatvirus to continue

its terrible tragedy around us.

And that means all ofus working together.

So my deepest thanks toall who have gathered here,

all who are listening, toother remarkable people

on the platform--

for joining in this planto repair any breaches

in our ship of vaccine healing.

Thank you very much.