Firefighters, police, teachers and childcare workers have been bumped to the top of the list for vaccines on Vancouver Island, as of May 1.
The news was welcomed by Saanich Fire Chief Dan Wood, who said he received an email from Island Health with priority access codes for members to register with. The crew working Saturday have already gotten appointment confirmations for Tuesday and Wednesday, Wood said.
“We recognize the tremendous strain on Island Health resources, trying to make this happen and we know access to vaccines has been an issue. We recognize that, but we’re grateful we’re finally getting the vaccines.”
Pleased to see our @SaanichFire team now have access to register for priority #covid19 vaccinations today!
Thank you @islandhealth @PHSAofBC for moving forward with frontline worker immunizations ðŸ™@BCFireChiefs @Local967 pic.twitter.com/pqqjtKZIjh
— Dan Wood 🇨🇦 (@firechiefwood) May 2, 2021
READ MORE: Greater Victoria firefighters, police left searching for leftover COVID-19 vaccines
The priority access comes after long weeks of asking why people with jobs that require a lot of public interaction had not already been prioritized. Until now, the best option had been getting lucky with end-of-day vaccines.
Const. Cam MacIntyre with the Victoria Police Department said, “we look forward to having our front line officers vaccinated as they have been working throughout the pandemic in challenging environments, often requiring close contact with members of our community.”
READ MORE: Saanich firefighters not prioritized for COVID-19 vaccine despite working on frontlines
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