Hows about a COVID-19 vaccine to go alongside a Thursday movie matinee?
Fraser Health will be at Cineplex in Langley today (Thursday) from 3 to 7 p.m. offering just that. Movie-goers, or anyone 12-plus, is welcome to stop by the vaccination clinic located at 20090 91A Ave. for their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Christian Hall was at the cinema site in Walnut Grove but he wasn’t there to see the latest blockbuster.
He had tried to get a shot in his home community of Pitt Meadows but found the clinic closed so headed across the Fraser River to the pop-up clinic.
“You just got to do it,” he said.
A personal health number nor appointment are required.
There were several teens who went through the clinic during the first two hours, according to staff on scene. Some grabbed some movie popcorn before heading home.
Veikko Gladstone, from Aldergrove, appreciated the ease of the pop-up clinic that he found out about online Thursday morning.
“We just figured a drop in would be easiest,” he said.
He is needle hesitant but said the vaccination went smoothly and encouraged anyone not double dosed to get it done.
“Everyone here was really nice,” Gladstone commented. “I had a lady actually kind of block my view of the needle which was really nice because kind of out of sight, out of mind.”
Joining him at the clinic was Rebecca Samuelson, also of Aldergrove, to get her first dose.
She was concerned about the vaccine impacting her migraines, which is why she had hoped for the single dose Johnson and Johnson. She was waiting for medication to clear her system so the timing of this clinic worked out for her.
“It didn’t really hurt at all. It barely felt like anything, and it was over within like a minute,” Samuelson said.
Gladstone said they acted as each other’s support system so they could both get their shots and will do the same thing when it comes time for the second dose.
COVID cases have been creeping back up again in Langley, the latest BC CDC data shows. From the week of Aug. 8 to 14 Langley recorded 83 new cases, up from last week’s 63 and greater than neighbouring communities Abbotsford, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and South Surrey-White Rock.
A COVID-19 vaccine and a movie? Stop by the Cineplex in Langley TOMORROW from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. for your first or second dose.
Everyone 12+ eligible. No PHN or appointment needed. Find more locations at https://t.co/VIoz12RfN6#VaxForBC #BCimmUNITY #CommunityImmunity pic.twitter.com/Y3hGZu0tr6
— Fraser Health (@Fraserhealth) August 19, 2021
The weekly case rate in Langley has increased as well, it’s now seven, up from the previous week of five per 100,000 population.
As of Aug. 17, 81 per cent of Langley residents 12 years and older had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the BC CDC reports, while 73 per cent have received their second.
A breakdown of the numbers reveals the vaccination rate in the 18 to 49 age group in Langley is trailing, where 77 per cent of this population have received their first dose, and only 67 per cent have received their second.
The CDC does not provide data on the 12 to 17 age group.
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People going to the Colussus Cineplex theatre in Langley had a chance to get their first or second vaccinations for COVID-19 at a pop-up clinic that runs until 7 p.m. today (Thursday, Aug. 19) (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
People going to the Colussus Cineplex theatre in Langley had a chance to get their first or second vaccinations for COVID-19 at a pop-up clinic that runs until 7 p.m. today (Thursday, Aug. 19) (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
Veikko Gladstone and Rebecca Samuelson live in the Aldergrove area and took advantage of the pop-up vaccination clinic in Walnut Grove to get their shots. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
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Christian Hall had tried to get his jab in Pitt Meadows where he lives but zipped over to Langley while the clinic was open at Colossus Cineplex. (Joti Grewal/Langley Advance Times)
