A bus is travelling throughout Nottingham to offer Covid vaccinations to people in areas where the uptake of the jab is particularly low.
So far the bus has visited Strelley and Bilborough and comes as a new initiative from the NHS, Nottingham City Council and local voluntary and community organisations.
Just last week public health officials revealed vaccine uptake in the city in particular was "disappointing", with the latest data showing it had the lowest uptake outside of the London boroughs, Luton and the Forest of Dean for those over 50.
Nottinghamshire Live visited the bus which had parked up outside The Pelican pub in Bilborough on April 15, in a bid to showcase just how it has been operating.
Its aim is to drive uptake in specific areas where people may be reluctant to go for their jab when called up.
Zaimal Azad, who helps build community relationships across the city, was speaking to people who were either visiting for their jab or simply had an inquiring eye.
She said so far she had discovered numerous reasons as to why people might have been hesitant.
"It is a mix of factors," she said.
"There is still a lot of concern around how quickly vaccines have been approved.
"The AstraZeneca clotting issues have come up quite a lot when talking to people, as well as conspiracies around Covid not being real.
"Access is a possible issue as well. That is why the bus is so great. We've chosen today because it is market day.
"In this part of Nottingham there are a lot of elderly and it also helps with normalising [getting the vaccine].
"We are trying to be non-judgemental about it, and say it is okay if people are scared about something that is new."
Inside the bus, operated by CT4N driver Damian Turnbull, nurses work to administer the jabs to anyone who is eligible.
Those who are over 45 and beyond can simply turn up for their jab on the day or book via Swiftqueue.
The windows are tinted black for comfort and confidentiality and those in the queue with any concerns are offered a friendly word of advice to quash any fears.
Mr Turnbull said he had been picked to drive the bus around the city, despite only starting back in November.
He added: "I love it. I just want to help us all come out of this pandemic."
The bus will be visiting a number of other areas across the city in the next few weeks to make getting a jab simple and accessible.
Other areas include the Chase Neighbourhood Centre in St Ann's, Sultania Mosque in Sneinton, Bulwell Market, Forest Road West and Bestwood Park church.
Carl Ellis, the senior operations lead for the project and manager of the care home roving team, said their aim was to not only drive uptake, but also to analyse why some people were failing to turn up when asked to do so.
"One of the key things is to get this vaccine out to more people," he said.
"Uptake has not been as good as other areas, we are working with certain groups who would not use the health services, like those who are homeless, as we want to make it as available as we can.
"We have got nurses on board. It is about offering advice about the vaccine. The response has been really, really good."
Responding to the community concerns raised by Ms Azad, interim director for public health for the city, David Johns, told Nottinghamshire Live: "Blood clotting as a result of being inoculated with the Astra Zeneca vaccine is extremely rare – only around four people develop this condition for every million doses of AZ vaccine doses given.
"There is a greater chance of blood clots resulting from contracting Covid-19.
"Like all medicines, Covid vaccines went through several stages of lab tests and clinical trials before being approved for use.
"The MHRA, the official UK regulator, has said the vaccines being used in the UK are very safe and highly effective. People can be assured that the NHS would not offer any Covid-19 vaccinations to the public until experts have approved them as safe.
"There is a lot of misinformation out there about Covid-19 and we would urge people to ensure they are getting their information from reliable sources, such as the national Covid-19 dashboard.
"Covid-19 has had a personal impact on many of our citizens and their relatives in Nottingham city and we are grateful for the support they continue to receive from both our social care staff and NHS colleagues."
You can book an appointment here: https://www.swiftqueue.co.uk/nottinghamc19vbus.php
