A Williams Lake 19-year-old is making good on a promise to help promote the COVID-19 vaccine.
Massimo Calabrese, who penned a letter to city council asking the city to do more, has now organized a vaccine clinic at Paradise Cinemas where he has worked part-time during the last few years.
The clinics will be hosted by Interior Health and are planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 21 and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1.
“Our goal is to get as many people vaccinated as possible to raise our low vaccination rate,” Calabrese said. “According to the BCCDC as of Aug. 3, just 65 per cent of eligible people in the Cariboo Chilcotin have received their first dose, one of the lowest rates of any region in the province.”
First doses are available to anyone 12 and older and second doses for anyone who received their first dose at least 28 days ago.
READ MORE: Experts warn B.C. on track to exceed record highs of new COVID-19 infections come fall
Recently he delivered letters to local businesses asking for donations to use as prizes for a raffle.
“We have so far received over $800 in donations from local businesses with more donations expected. A prize raffle will be open to those attending the clinic. Additionally, a free movie pass raffle is open to anyone who has been vaccinated already (one or two doses),” Massimo said.
People can stop by the theatre during box office hours 6:30-9:30 p.m. nightly and 1:30-3:30 p.m. or 6:30-9:30 p.m. on weekends and show their vaccine card to enter.
Thanking all the businesses who donated to the prize draw and Interior Health for helping make this happen, he said if any businesses would like to donate, they can use the contact information on the form they received or email manager@paradisecinemas.com.
The BCCDC COVID-19 surveillance dashboard recently indicated the average daily rate of positive cases increased to 11 per 100,000 for the Cariboo Chilcotin between Aug. 6 to 12, up from four per 100,000 the previous week.
READ MORE: Williams Lake 19-year-old asks city to promote COVID-19 vaccine
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