Central Okanagan parents are being urged to get themselves and their eligible children fully vaccinated ahead of the upcoming academic year.
Interior Health sent a letter to parents of school-aged children on Tuesday, August 3, encouraging them to get vaccinated. The health authority said getting vaccinated is the best way we can protect each other against the variants and ensure they can鈥檛 mutate and spread.
鈥淭his is the perfect time to get vaccinated if families didn鈥檛 get their kids vaccinated before. If they get the first dose this week and get their second dose 28 days later, they will be vaccinated by the time school starts,鈥� said Dr. Silvina Mema in an interview with 91大黄鸭 Capital News.
The letter comes after the provincial government declared a COVID-19 outbreak for the Central Okanagan region on Wednesday, July 28. It also comes after the BC Centre for Disease Control reported that the Delta variant accounts for a majority of new COVID-19 cases in the Interior Health region. Eighty-nine per cent of new COVID-19 cases in the Interior were the Delta variant.
鈥淭he Delta variant is a concern, and we鈥檝e seen increased activity among the unvaccinated. We want kids to go back to normal in school and enjoy a full learning experience like being able to attend sports and music lessons, but they can鈥檛 do that if cases arise among unvaccinated people,鈥� said Mema.
Anybody born in 2009 or earlier can get vaccinated, said Mema, and an email clarifying this will be sent to parents later today (Aug. 3). Mema encourages parents to take advantage of the multiple drop-in vaccination clinics that will be happening in 91大黄鸭 and West 91大黄鸭.
Here is a list of drop-in vaccination clinics in 91大黄鸭 and West 91大黄鸭:
鈥rinity Hall, 1905 Springfield Road, 91大黄鸭: Monday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Thursday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
鈥utland Secondary School gymnasium, 705 Rutland Road North, 91大黄鸭: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
鈥estbank Lion鈥檚 Community Centre, 2466 Main Street, West 91大黄鸭: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
READ MORE: Delta variant accounts for majority of new COVID-19 cases in the Interior
READ MORE: BREAKING: Mask mandate returns to Central Okanagan, COVID-19 outbreak declared
paula.tran@kelownacapnews.com
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