Friday (July 30) saw a line of people eager to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in downtown Kelowna.
The Kelowna Yacht Club is hosting Interior Health’s pop-up vaccination clinic, scheduled to run from now until Aug. 4. Clinical operations executive director Danielle Cameron said the downtown location is perfect for residents who have not had their shot yet due to scheduling conflicts or simply finding that clinics are too far away.
“Some of the people we’re vaccinating now just have not had the chance to get the vaccine before,” she said.
“With many of our pop-ups that we’ve already done, it was really just around removing barriers and making it as easy as possible for people to come in and get their vaccination.”
With that said, however, vaccination rates in Interior Health seem to be lagging behind the provincial average. Cameron acknowledged that some of it has to do with vaccine hesitancy, which they are working to address.
“If you’re unsure, there are many places to get information but if you really want to hear from one of the experts, come into the clinic. Talk to the staff that are working here,” she said.
Kelowna Yacht Club’s executive director Thom Killingsworth said setting up the pop-up clinic happened very quickly soon after the province declared a regional outbreak in the Central Okanagan.
“We immediately thought (the yacht club) was the right place (for a clinic),” he said.
“We’re right downtown and our members are always willing to do the right thing for the community… and we’re really glad to see that people are coming out right away.”
Killingsworth added that depending on the demand and how many people show up to get the jab, the club and Interior Health may decide to extend the clinic’s availability.
“We’ll see how popular it is and just get as many people through as we can.”
The pop-up clinic at the Kelowna Yacht Club will be open from now until Aug. 4 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. No appointment is necessary and you can get either your first or second dose.
READ MORE: Mask mandate returns to Central Okanagan, COVID-19 outbreak declared
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