New BC Centre for Disease Control data show areas where fewer people are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 have higher test positivity rates — Rutland and Lake Country being examples.
For the first time since the pandemic began, the BCCDC is offering COVID-19 data at a neighbourhood level through Community Health Service Areas (CHSA). The new data shows Kelowna’s Rutland area and Lake Country with some of the highest test-positivity rates in the B.C. Interior, sitting between 10.1 and 20 per cent.
The same two communities also have some of the lowest vaccination uptakes across the Interior among people over 18, with between 21 and 40 per cent of people receiving their first dose compared to 40 to 60 per cent in each of the six surrounding CHSAs in the Central Okanagan.
(BCCDC)
Between May 4 and 10, Rutland, Lake Country, Downtown Kelowna and Glenmore had a rate of between 10.1 and 20 cases per 100,000 population. The rest of the Okanagan saw fewer than 10 cases per 100,000, some fewer than five.
For the Central Okanagan, case rates as a whole continue to trend downward, with 162 cases recorded between May 2 and 8.
All B.C. residents can register to be notified when it’s their turn to book an appointment online, by phone from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day at 1-833–838-2323, or in person at a ServiceBC office.
Interior Health is currently notifying registered people over 30 years old they can book a vaccination appointment. Rutland has been deemed a high-transmission neighbourhood, prompting health officials to open vaccine bookings to all residents over 18.
READ MORE: More than 40% of Central Okanagan residents have received 1st vaccine dose
READ MORE: All adults in Rutland, Summerland now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccine
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