Health bosses announce further vaccine pop-ups following trust-building event in Hackney

Medics are bringing the Covid vaccine to residents in a bid to boost the number of people protected from the illness and cut their risk of passing it on.

Over the next month, clinics will be visiting north Hackney to target the Orthodox Jewish community and help get them vaccinated.

There are more vaccine and testing sessions taking place at the Springfield surgery in Stamford Hill, where expectant mothers will be encouraged to have the jab. They are also offered the jab at their 20-week scan at Homerton Hospital.

The vaccine team will also head to the Port Soken ward in the Square Mile.

The plans follow a pop-up event at Clapton’s Kingsmead Estate which was designed to build up trust within the community. The event attracted 45 young people who discussed the vaccine with doctors and the council’s head of public health Dr Sandra Husbands.

The team has unrolled the vaccination programme across 23 schools in City and Hackney.

It has led to “excellent take-up in the City”, according to Amy Wilkinson, the director for children, young people and families at North East London CCG.

The consent rate ranged from 56 to 67 per cent at City of London School and City of London School for Girls, with 525 pupils getting the vaccine.

However, Stoke Newington School in Hackney had a consent rate of just 30 per cent of eligible children.

So far, there have been visits to five Hackney schools, and the aim is to go to all secondary schools by the end of November.

The government’s target is to get 75 per cent of eligilbe children vaccinated.

The team are holding assemblies and question-and-answer sessions for parents.

They said it was not surprising the initial take-up was lower in Hackney, which has historically seen lower rates for childhood vaccines.

Vaccines are also being delivered to 12-15-year-old Charedi pupils.

The “significantly low” vaccine rate  of 26 per cent amongst 16-17-year-olds is causing concern.

Meanwhile, Hackney and Haringey councils have teamed up with the NHS for a vaccine information event that will allow the D/deaf and hard of hearing community to quiz GPs at St John’s Deaf Community on Green Lanes on Friday 22 October from 6.30-8pm.

People can attend in person or on Zoom and Facebook Live, and there will be British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters on hand. Register here.

BSL interpreters will also be at a vaccine clinic at the John Scott Health Centre on Green Lanes from 5-9pm on the same night. People can book an interpreter via the online form here.

It will offer first doses of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine and second doses for those who had their first dose eight or more weeks ago. Register here

Dr Sandra Husbands, Hackney’s public health director said: “This question-and-answer session, and the evening clinic, will support British Sign Language speakers in London to get their questions answered first-hand on the Covid-19 vaccine, and feel more confident in taking the vaccination to help keep themselves and their loved ones safe.”