But what is the right blessing (
bracha in Hebrew) to say upon receiving the Covid-19 vaccine? Is it even appropriate to say a blessing at all?
This moment felt far off at the beginning of the pandemic, but is arriving at record speed. Both Moderna and Pfizer have produced Covid-19 vaccines that are more than 90 percent effective at preventing infection, and the U.S. government is set to receive enough vaccines to immunize 100 million people in the first quarter of 2021.
So we reached out to rabbis from different denominations to get their opinions. All said the occasion merits a Jewish response, even as Orthodox rabbis noted that formal blessings with God’s name are reserved for certain situations.