A POP-UP Covid-19 vaccination clinic, aimed at Bury’s south Asian community, attracted nearly 200 people to come and get their jabs on a single day.

The clinic, at the Jinnah Day Care Centre in Alfred Street, Bury, was led by local GPs, clinical pharmacists and the community, together with Bury Council and NHS Bury CCG. It offered vaccinations to people who were eligible for a jab, but had not yet taken up the offer.

The centre, a familiar location for many in the south Asian community, did a brisk trade throughout the day. Practices across Bury had spent the weeks before the event calling patients and encouraging them to attend.

Dr Fazel Butt of Huntley Mount Medical Centre and a team of clinical pharmacists administered the jabs, backed by Dr Afzal Hussain from Walmersley Road Medical Practice.

ADAB and Jinnah Centre staff (both prominent south Asian community groups in Bury) mobilised to support marshalling services and language support, and admin and logistical support was provided through Huntley Mount Medical Centre.

Asif Butt, practice manager at Huntley Mount Medical Centre, said: “When the vaccination programme first began some people from BAME backgrounds were reluctant to come forward. There were concerns over the speed of the vaccine development, long-term side effects, whether the vaccination was halal, and around fertility in younger people.

“We’ve been working really hard to combat some of that misinformation but we were still worried that not enough of our BAME patients were taking up their vaccination offer. We knew we needed to tackle the issue head-on.

“After a really productive meeting with the Dr Butt and Dr Hussain, Bury Council and the NHS about what we could do together, we came up with a set of plans with this pop-up clinic at the heart of it.

“The day was a huge success and we are already seeing that more and more people from our community are increasingly confident to come forward to be vaccinated.”

Muhammad Rehman, a Bury resident who got his jab at the pop-up, said he was really glad to have had his first vaccination, and would be encouraging his family and friends to do the same as soon as they were eligible.

He said: “Most of my friends have just been watching fake news on Facebook and YouTube and they are worried about the vaccine.

“But I think you should ignore that and get your vaccine done and then we can get back to normal as soon as we can.”

The pop-up is the latest initiative ensuring that nobody gets left behind in Bury’s Covid vaccination programme, through which more than 60,000 residents have now received a first dose of either the Pfizer or the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine.

While the vast majority of vaccinations have been carried out at of one of Bury’s four main sites, along with Fairfield Hospital and the Etihad Vaccination Centre, GPs have been out to vaccinate housebound people. There has also been work to encourage groups such as travellers and the homeless to come and get vaccinated once eligible.

Lesley Jones, Director of Public Health at Bury Council, said: “I would like to hail everyone involved in the pop-up, including staff from the Jinnah Centre, ADAB and all of the volunteers who gave up their Saturday to come and help.

“It was a great day and really heartening to see so many people come and get themselves protected against Covid-19, which of course has disproportionately affected people from BAME backgrounds.

“The early signs are that the vaccination programme is having an effect on prevention of serious illness from Covid. We need as many people as possible to take up the vaccine to help us in our fight against the disease.

“We hope that, by providing initial vaccinations in more accessible places, people will be more comfortable in attending one of Bury’s main centres for their second vaccination, and also to come forward in future for other vaccinations like the flu jab.”