As little as 10 jabs "could be the difference" which helps Covid-hit Oldham avoid further local lockdown restrictions.
Health bosses have been worried by below-average vaccination rates in the borough - with particular concern regarding uptake in Muslim communities.
A recent survey by Oldham Mosques Council (OMC) showed just 28% of Muslims in the area said they would get the Covid-19 jab.
Now local imams, retired nurses and councillors have joined forces in a huge community effort to promote the truth about the vaccine.
They believe just 10 jabs could be the difference between success and failure.
A massive pop-up vaccination operation organised by Oldham Council, the OMC and local volunteers is now in full swing.
The Greengate Jamia Masjid in Oldham hosted the temporary vaccination site on Wednesday (March 3) hoping to boost the uptake for local Muslims.
Council staff walked around neighbouring streets in the morning, knocking on doors to find any eligible recipients who hadn't been vaccinated, and asking them if they wanted to get the jab.
One of these, Anne Quinlan, would usually be helping people with mental health issues or traumatic brain injuries.
But she has been checking in with locals since November, after being seconded to the council from her role with Reel CIC.
Anne believes every person they book in for a jab is an important step.
She said: "A few months back Oldham was in the news for being the worst in the country so seeing it get to this stage is fantastic.
"Even if we only encourage ten or 15 people to get the vaccine, that's ten people who wouldn't have had it otherwise.
"They could be the difference between another local lockdown."
After vaccinating nearly 300 residents - and imams - the success of Wednesday’s clinic sparked a sigh of relief from officials.
Abdul Basit Shah, the Acting Chair of the Oldham Mosques Council (OMC), started delivering training sessions to local imams about the vaccine to fight confusion and lies surrounding the vital jab.
Now he is proud to see his work paying off.
He said: “The story began last week at the training session, and today we see the results of that.
“I tell you what, this one day will not be enough.
“Now the imams are on board they’re here today to show their congregations ‘we have done it and nothing happened’, to encourage them to get the jab too.
“If we didn’t do this training we wouldn’t have seen this success, it’s going to have a huge, huge effect.
“Look at how many people are here today - we said Asians were hesitant and now we’ve addressed their concerns the number will really go up which is a good story for Oldham.”
Among the people being vaccinated was Abdul Shakoor, the chair of the OMC.
He was one of the first people to receive his jab on Wednesday, and was keen to show that nothing had changed afterwards.
Mr Shakoor said: “I came for the Covid-19 vaccine, I had it just now and so far nothing bad has happened.
“It’s safe and effective and I will request the people, especially ethnic minorities, to come and get the vaccine.”
Nurses from Hopwood House and Greenbank medical practices were prepared for a busy day of jabs, with 150 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine delivered to the pop-up site, run by Dr Harpal Hunjan, the practice manager at Hopwood House.
The event's popularity meant Michelle Collins, practice manager at Greenbank, had to arrange for more to be dropped off from her nearby sited.
The team managed to vaccinate 296 people by the time the doors closed at the temporary clinic.
Among those vaccinating was retired practice nurse Carolyn Simpson.
The Hathershaw resident had worked as a healthcare professional for 40 years, ending her career at Hopwood House with Dr Hunjan.
She said: “I just wanted to help, when they gave the call out for people to come back I knew it was the right thing to do.
"I used to work at Hopwood House which is how I've ended up here helping Dr Hunjan.
“I’m used to vaccinating from my time at baby clinics, I’ve been back doing this since December and I’ve given quite a few now.”
Mr Shah has vowed to continue working with the OMC’s partners to run more pop-up vaccination sites like this one.
More than 300 people have already booked a slot at a similar clinic at the European Islamic Centre on Saturday morning (March 6).
Now, Mr Shah says other areas need to take note of how successful his programme has been, and implement something similar.
He added: “Oldham Mosque Council was the first to do these sessions and we’ve proven that this works - that knowledge should be used.
“Now this needs to happen across the country.
“It’s not that people don’t want to get the vaccine, it’s that they’re confused and we’re changing that by dispelling these myths and showing them that it’s safe.
“Once the ball’s rolling it’ll just keep getting bigger and bigger.
“There is a language barrier in a lot of cases and it’s not that communities are disengaged, it’s that us as service providers need to be more approachable and accessible.”
