Door to Door vaccinations considered for parts of Middlesbrough

DOOR-TO-DOOR vaccine jabs are being considered to reach a “couple of hundred” elderly people who haven’t received their first vaccines in Middlesbrough.

Health bosses confirmed talks about taking jabs to doorsteps were being held on Teesside last month to tackle areas where uptake was lower.

Now Middlesbrough Council’s chief executive Tony Parkinson has confirmed the strategy is being looked at to reach older folk who haven’t had a vaccine yet.

The top officer said: “We’re looking at home visits at part of this and we’re also looking at pop-up testing and vaccinations sites.”

More than 64,000 people have been vaccinated in neighbouring Middlesbrough up to April 7 – equating to about 46% of the borough’s population.

And about 12,500 people in the town have had their second jab so far.

But there were questions about reaching over 80s who hadn’t received their first dose amid figures showing 3% of those in the oldest cohort were yet to get one.

Mr Parkinson said the council was looking to get lists from GP surgeries to make direct contact with the remaining over 80s who hadn’t been vaccinated.

Cllr Janet Thompson asked if home visits could help – and the top officer confirmed teams were looking at this as a strategy.

“I’m sure it can be,” added Mr Parkinson.

“Vaccinations take place in care homes.

“I think we’re talking about a couple of hundred people over 80 who would need to be vaccinated.

“We’re trying to logistically plan that now with GP surgeries.”

Deprivation and ethnicity gaps

Figures presented to Thursday’s board showed there had been differences in vaccine uptake among ethnic minorities on Teesside.

A presentation showed there had been a lower uptake among Middlesbrough folk with African, Pakistani and Indian heritage.

The council statistics also revealed a 20% gap in uptake between the most and least deprived wards in the town – with higher jab levels in wealthier neighbourhoods.

Figures also showed take-up among men in the town was 10% lower than women.

The Al Mustafa Centre, on Parliament Road, Middlesbrough, became a pop-up vaccine clinic on Thursday.

Mr Parkinson told Thursday’s overview and scrutiny board it had welcomed 50 people in its first two hours of opening.

He added: “It was open to the general public but we used a mosque to get to the ethnic demographic we wanted to.”

Efforts to close the gaps in uptake will continue over the coming weeks.

Pop-up centres have seen hundreds of people through doors in two mosques on Teesside in recent days.

Stockton’s Farooq E Azam Mosque and Islamic Centre, on Bowesfield Lane, welcomed over 50s and those in clinically vulnerable groups without appointments for jabs on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Al Mustafa Centre became the region’s second pop-up vaccine clinic on Thursday.

Dr Yusuf Soni, from the Riverside Medical Practice, said not having to book appointments for jabs had been a “big boost”.

Stockton’s mayor Cllr Mohammed Javed also had his second jab at the Bowesfield Lane site this week.

He said: “Vaccine uptake among our community is lower throughout the country so it’s very important for us to have the clinics set up in mosques, or community centres, to encourage people to have vaccines.

“There have been a lot of deaths among the BAME community so it’s important that we encourage people to come forward.

“This centre has been very successful.”