The Parksville Community Centre building will be used as a COVID-19 immunization site.
The Vancouver Island Health Authority and Parksville city council have reached an agreement to lease the PCC from March 15 until September, according to a press release issued by the manager of communications for the city, Deb Tardiff, on March 2.
The release said Island Health expects the community centre to be operational as the vaccination clinic for 12 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide vaccinations to approximately 60,000 Parksville Qualicum Beach residents in the area.
The city also reminded residents that Provincial Health Officer orders and guidelines are still in place, even after getting vaccinated.
READ MORE: B.C.’s COVID-19 mass vaccinations expected to start in April
“We all need to continue to protect each other by avoiding social interactions outside our immediate household, washing our hands often, staying home when sick, staying physically distant from people outside our households, and wearing a mask in public indoor spaces,” wrote Tardiff.
According to the provincial government website, registration for British Columbians during phase 3 and 4 (people born in 1942 or later, or Indigenous people born in 1957 or later) will be done either by phone, or through HealthConnect, an online system. The website states that registration will open late March, and at this time, no action is required as no on is able to book an appointment before the registration system as launched.
For information on the Island Health immunization plan, please refer to www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/plan.
The release read that if the city is successful with acquiring the Childcare BC New Spaces Fund, renovations to the community centre for the Boys and Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island will start once Island Health has completed all immunizations, with the centre expected to re-open to the community in January 2022.
— NEWS Staff, submitted
