Covid: Middlesbrough mosques 'tackling vaccine hesitancy'

Health chiefs are working to reassure people who have concerns about vaccines

Medics behind pop-up vaccination centres at two mosques say the schemes highlight the importance of "reaching out" to people from ethnic minorities who may otherwise avoid getting jabs.

Middlesbrough's Al-Mustafa Centre became Teesside's second pop-up clinic when it opened on Thursday.

People aged over 50, or those over 16 in an "at risk" group, can attend.

It follows the launch of a venture at Stockton's Farooq E Azam Mosque and Islamic Centre earlier this week.

The clinics are open to people of all faiths. 

Speaking at the Al-Mustafa Centre, Dr Vaishali Nanda, clinical director for central Middlesbrough, said: "I think it's really important because we need to work beyond our traditional boundaries.

"It's a new disease, a new vaccine and we have to find innovative ways of getting into our communities.

"We did see a lot of vaccine hesitancy in certain communities so we thought why not reach out to people?"

'Lot of misinformation'

A spokesman for the centre said it was "working very hard to promote the benefits" of being vaccinated.

The mosque has previously been praised for reading out public health messages during Friday prayer sessions and tackling misinformation about Covid-19.

Dr Yusuf Soni, who has been involved with the Stockton clinic, warned "a lot of misinformation" had been spread about vaccines "that simply is not true".

He stressed vaccines do not contain alcohol, pork or any other animal or foetal products that would be forbidden by Islam.

Government research has shown people from ethnic minority groups are at a greater risk of being infected with coronavirus as they tend to live in more densely populated areas and in multi-generational households.

They are also more likely to use public transport and have jobs which cannot be done at home.