[Reporter] A front line in the fight against COVID
this is a pop-up vaccine clinic
in Aylmer, Southwestern Ontario
one of the province's least vaccinated areas.
As the fourth wave grows
these workers know it's on them
to help turn the tide.
Outside
these residents do, too
streaming in as soon as the doors open.
Fourteen-year-old Isaac Peters
is getting his first shot.
[Peters] A little poke.
It was just a needle
it helps the community out
to get this coronavirus
out of this world
and to help the older -- elder people.
[Reporter] These are the willing
but in this area
they're just barely a majority.
I don't understand why it's such a big deal to some people but
for me it's just, you know
you do what you can.
[Reporter] Aylmer is a town of 7,500
nestled amid lush farm land
deeply rooted in religion.
Just over half of those eligible here
and in the neighbouring communities
have received a vaccine.
Compare that to about 80 per cent
across Ontario.
It's all about trust
[Reporter] ... and continuing to build it is crucial
says the area's top doctor.
Stigmatizing doesn't help.
Judgment doesn't help.
Support and education
and reaching people where they're at
does help.
[Reporter] But those messages
are struggling to get through.
We talked to several people at this park.
Most did not want to go on camera
and most were either vaccine hesitant
or outright opposed to getting a shot.
Some said they don't fear COVID
others said they don't trust the science.
[Reporter] This father was the only parent here
willing to speak publicly
echoing the sentiments we heard from so many others.
[Parent] I'm a little bit scared to get vaccine.
If you look the internet
it's like 50/50 people says
like we have to get
and another 50 per cent says like
we don't because it makes
worse.
[Reporter] So have you seen the statistics
about how effective the vaccines are
for reducing hospitalization and death?
I didn't see that like
exactly the numbers
but I heard it was cases
the people get vaccine and they had some problem
and I'm not sure if it's fake or true.
[Pastor] Welcome home.
[Reporter] Aylmer has been a flash point
throughout the pandemic.
Last November
thousands gathered here
for a so-called freedom march
decrying masks and lockdowns
as other residents staged a counter-protest.
Many in the crowd belong to the Church of God Restoration
a controversial congregation
led by pastor Henry Hildebrandt.
[Pastor] Freedoms are not theirs to take away from us.
Christians died for it
people fought for it
their freedoms are ours.
[Reporter] Hildebrandt has repeatedly
broken public health restrictions
opening the doors of his church
even when it was prohibited
railing against governments
and mainstream science.
He's a divisive voice in the town
but one with hundreds of followers.
Do you take pride in this area
being one of the least vaccinated in Ontario?
It's not about pride.
It's not about pride
it's about saving lives.
[Reporter] How is it about saving lives?
[Hildebrandt] It's saving lives because I will not be injected
with something that you cannot prove
to me is working or is safe
and I will not keep it to myself either.
Why do you feel like you can say
it's not a vaccine
when people who've studied vaccines
for decades are saying it is in fact a life-saving vaccine?
They're saying it because they know people like you will believe it.
Okay they know that the majority of the people
will just blindly follow.
I'm not one of them.
Senator Lindsey Graham
he was vaccinated, fully vaccinated
and he got COVID.
[Reporter] Yes, but in his tweets
announcing that he got COVID
he said that had he not had the vaccine
his symptoms would be much more severe
and he said he was happy that he got the vaccine.
[Hildebrandt]How does he know?
[Reporter] Science.
[Hildebrandt] All I know
no it's not science.
[Reporter] If some here are intransigent
the push now is to appeal to the purely hesitant.
This radio station broadcasts in Low German...
[Speaking in Low German]
[Reporter] ...the language spoken by many
in Aylmer's large Mennonite community.
It relays information
from the local public health unit to the public.
The misinformation
the what do you want to call it, gossip
and it spreads.
Do you feel like your message is getting through
over some of the misinformation that's out there?
I would hope so.
I think it's hard to measure
but I would really hope that
people would
some of these testaments that we're relaying
that they would speak to that.
[Reporter] Some community leaders
have even broadcasted
their own vaccination experiences
trying to make it less daunting for others.
Abe Harms is one of them.
I always feel that the most effective
is when we say what we've done.
I'm one of the leaders
in our Mennonite community
and I got both shots so
there are a lot of us that did.
And so how do you try to appeal
to those people in your community
who are hesitant?
Well we're going to get
continue to do what we've done
stay with a consistent message
a message that
is always in line with public health and
and so we're going to hope and pray
that more people take it up.
[Reporter] A hope fueled
by those deciding just now
to get their shot.
Ellen Mauro, CBC News, Aylmer, Ontario.