After having had to cancel a drop-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic in Ashcroft in late July because of wildfires and smoke, Interior Health will be holding clinics at the Ashcroft Public Health unit (located at the Ashcroft Hospital) on Aug. 10 and 11; Aug. 17 and 18; Sept. 15 and 16; and Sept. 22 and 23.
The clinics are all for first and second doses, and are for anyone aged 12 and older (youth who turn 12 in this calendar year are eligible to receive the vaccine). People are eligible for their second dose seven weeks (49 days) after they received their first dose.
It is not a drop-in clinic. In order to receive either a first or second vaccination, you must book an appointment by calling 1-833-838-2323. You can also register online at www.getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca/, or book an appointment by dropping in to any Service BC office.
There has been a resurgence in COVID-19 cases in the province, with Interior Health accounting for half of the new daily case counts. On Aug. 4 the Province reported 342 new cases of COVID-19, with 171 of them in the IH region.
British Columbia’s top doctor says the surge in COVID-19 cases is fuelled by those between the ages of 20 and 40 who are unvaccinated or have only had one dose.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says that health officials are not seeing widespread transmission to at-risk groups such as seniors, because they have a high rate of immunization.
She adds that pandemic modelling shows the Delta variant is more transmissible, which means immunization rates must go up, and even a small increase in vaccinations makes a difference.
In Interior Health, people aged 12 to 39 are reinforcing Henry’s words. As of July 28, only 25.9 per cent of those aged 12 to 17 in the IH region had received two doses of vaccine, and only 38.7 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 had received both doses. Other age groups stack up as follows:
Age 25 to 29: 41.3 per cent
Age 30 to 34: 44 per cent
Age 35 to 39: 47.5 per cent
Age 40 to 44: 52.5 per cent
Age 45 to 49: 57.8 per cent
Age 50 to 54: 62.5 per cent
Age 55 to 59: 68.3 per cent
Age 60 to 64: 74 per cent
Age 65 to 69: 79.4 per cent
Age 70 to 74: 83 per cent
Age 75 to 79: 84.1 per cent
Age 80 to 84: 85.9 per cent
Age 85 to 89: 86.1 per cent
Age 90 to 94: 85.1 per cent
Age 95+: 84 per cent
Province-wide, as of Aug. 4 some 67.9 per cent of all British Columbians had received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says people are not obliged to get vaccinated, but warns that the unimmunized might face consequences at work and certainly if they hope to travel outside of the country.
In addition to the Ashcroft clinic, you can get your first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by dropping in to any IH immunization clinic. For a list of all Interior Health COVID-19 immunization clinics and other resources, visit https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/covid-19-vaccines/.
editorial@accjournal.ca
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