A ‘POP-UP’ Covid vaccination clinic is being staged at a Keighley mosque.

The session, next Thursday (February 11), is believed to be the first of its kind at a mosque in the region.

It has been organised by GP groups Modality and Wharfedale, Airedale & Craven Alliance, in partnership with the Central Mosque.

Dr Matt Curtis, medical director at Modality, said: “We are keen to remove barriers and work closely with communities to encourage the uptake of the vaccination.

“By working with the Central Mosque team, we can spread our message and information about the vaccines to parts of the local population which may not have access to the facts surrounding the vaccine and the vaccination programme.

“We want to work with everyone to ensure this is the most successful vaccination programme ever and to reassure the local community about the safety of the vaccinations.”

Mohammed Nazam, from the Central Mosque, said it was important that everybody was aware of the truth about the vaccine and to dispel myths.

He added: “We have lost a great many members of our community to Covid-19, including some of our community leaders.

“We want everyone to know the facts about the vaccine and to understand the reasons to have it.

“We’re really keen to see a successful vaccination programme and we readily offered our community hall as a suitable site for vaccinations. We want to help educate our community about the vaccine and encourage everyone to have the jab when invited.”

The initiative is also supported by Modality lead pharmacist Umar Iqbal, who said: “We have now vaccinated over 13,000 people locally and we want to make sure everyone has the chance to protect themselves from having a serious illness or the need to be hospitalised.”

Modality thanks all those involved in the venture for helping to make it happen.

The partnership says it is currently vaccinating people aged over 70, and those with shielding letters from the Government. Requests are also accepted from frontline health workers. All eligible patients across Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven can book into clinics – including patients from North Street practice and Ling House in Keighley.

* Patients seeking an appointment at the mosque clinic should email awcmodality.mosque@nhs.net.