Walk-in and by-appointment vaccinations will be offered at the Willoughby Community Centre at 7888 200th Street, located in the Langley Events Centre, the Fraser Health Authority announced on Tuesday, Sept. 28.
COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the community centre is open Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays until Oct. 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Walk-ins for first or second doses will be accepted as capacity and supplies allow, or appointments can be booked online at www.fraserhealth.ca/easi.
As well, a central intake number is available at 604-587-3936, seven days a week, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm to assist people in completing their COVID-19 test booking form or to set up an appointment.
Fraser Health currently operates 10 COVID-19 test collection centres.
“We are monitoring the daily volumes at each test collection centre to ensure we can continue to meet the demand in our communities,” the FHA statement said.
“As we create more opportunities for immunization through our mobile and outreach clinics, this also helps free up space for testing at all our immunization and testing centres.”
Langley Events Centre was the site of a mass vaccination centre, that, at its peak, was giving more than 2,000 shots a day. The Vancouver Giants organization offered logistical support for the clinic.
It closed in August, as Fraser Health moved towards more mobile and pop-up clinics to serve the remaining people unvaccinated against COVID-19.
READ ALSO: New COVID restrictions imposed on eastern Fraser Valley to encourage vaccination
Word of the new pop-up clinic came as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced strict restrictions on unvaccinated individuals attending both social and organized gatherings in Abbotsford, Agassiz, Harrison, Hope, Chilliwack and Mission, as well as all smaller communities in the Fraser East health delivery area.
Henry said the rules come because unvaccinated COVID patients were putting strains on local hospitals, including a recent outbreak at the Chilliwack facility.
Cases in the eastern Fraser Valley are higher than in the rest of the Lower Mainland, with cases ranging from 25 per 100,000 in Central Abbotsford on the low end to 40 per 100,000 in Agassiz/Harrison on the high end.
In contrast, South Langley Township, and Brookswood/Murrayville report case rates about 20.
READ ALSO: COVID outbreak declared at Langley long-term care home
In Langley, a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Magnolia Gardens, a long-term care home in Langley City, after one resident and one staff member tested positive for the virus.
Fraser Health declared the outbreak the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 27.
Magnolia Gardens posted on its website that 100 per cent of its staff and residents are fully vaccinated, but the highly transmissible Delta variant means that such outbreaks remain a possibility.
Is there more to the story? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
