Pop-up vaccination success in Reading
Clinics have been held in a church and a mosque
Almost 300 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 at pop-up clinics that were set up at a mosque and a church.
The clinics were set up by Berkshire West Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), which is trying to encourage as many people as possible to take the vaccine, especially in communities where uptake is lower.
Last week, 90 people had their first jab at Christ the King, in Northumberland Avenue, Whitely. The pop-up clinic was run by Pembroke Surgery and volunteers from the local community.
Another 200 people were jabbed at Aisha Masjid & Islamic Centre in London Road, Earley.
GPs Dr Rupa Joshi and Dr James Kennedy, Co Clinical Directors for Wokingham North Primary Care Network, set up the clinic with help from Wokingham Borough Council.
Dr Joshi said: “It’s really important that we continue to do everything we can to remove those barriers to people accessing the vaccine.
“So we’re really pleased to be able to offer a pop-up vaccination clinic at the mosque.
“People that are coming feel familiar and they feel comfortable coming to the mosque and we’ve had a fantastic turnout.
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming along.
“We’re particularly pleased because our British Pakistani community numbers for the vaccine uptake have been lower than the rest of our community, so we’re really pleased to be able to reach out and offer the vaccination to keep everyone safe.”
Muslim residents are now being encouraged to get vaccinated if they receive an invitation during Ramadan.
The British Islamic Medical Association has published guidance that taking the vaccine “does not invalidate the fast”.
According to the latest NHS figures, 405,685 people in Berkshire had received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by April 4 and 62,985 of them live in Reading.