Pears Foundation to match donations to global vaccine campaign

A Jewish philanthropic trust has announced it will match every pound donated this summer to a campaign to provide two billion COVID-19 vaccines worldwide.

The Pears Foundation said it will double every pound up to £100,000 donated until August 31 towards the Vaccinaid fundraiser.

The campaign aims to provide nearly two billion doses of vaccine to health workers and the most high risk and vulnerable people in countries across the world.

The vaccine effort – the biggest in history – is also being backed by the Jewish News, which encouraged readers to donate on its homepage, and figures including Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Rachel Riley.

The crowdfunding campaign, which calls on people to donate to “give the world a shot”, has raised nearly £2.7m so far.

“It’s important to me, and I believe it should be important to our entire UK Jewish community,” Chief Rabbi Mirvis told the Jewish News in April.

“So often we quote that marvellous saying of our sages from the Talmud that if you save one life it is as if you have saved the whole world.

“We have the opportunity to achieve that, every single of us now has that opportunity.”

He added: “We have through VaccinAid the genuine opportunity to reach out, to save lives, and this very much reflects the finest of Jewish values.”