COVID-19: Main vaccination clinic in Kelowna, BC closed, smaller but delayed opened – Okanagan

In March, Kelowna’s Trinity Church on Springfield Road was transformed into a massive vaccination clinic.

Since then, thousands of residents of the central Okanagan there have been immune to COVID-19.

“It’s just under 200,000 doses that were administered, so 198,867 doses were administered at this site,” said Deborah Preston, director of primary care for the Okanagan center for the Interior Health Authority. (IHA).

But after more than six months, the vaccination clinic closed on Tuesday and will be moved to a smaller location.

“On the days when we need space for 2,500 people a day, we just don’t need it,” Preston told Global News.

The new vaccination clinic has moved to Capri Center, next to what used to be the Winners store.

It was supposed to open on Thursday, but that opening was delayed by several days until Tuesday.

“It wasn’t quite ready,” Preston said. “Some things we wanted on the window, then some storage things, a little extra cleaning to do.”

The IHA offers a number of pop-up clinics to accommodate people during the delay at its current testing site on Ethel Street as well as at the Farmers’ Market in Kelowna on Saturday.

He is also extending his immunization hours at the Westbank Lions Community Hall in West Kelowna.

While weekly data shows the number of COVID cases starting to decline in the central Okanagan, the region still has the highest province-wide share.

According to the BC Center for Disease Control (BC CDC), there were 478 cases of the virus in the region during the week of August 29 to September 4, a decrease of only 6.5% from the previous week.

Vernon saw a 35% decrease in cases that week from the previous week, with 169 cases and Penticton was unchanged with 69 new cases both weeks.

With a vaccination card due to go into effect on September 13, requiring people to show proof of vaccination to access non-essential services such as restaurants, the IHA said it has noticed an increase in the number of people receiving their first vaccine.

“We saw an impact in terms of people wanting to access dose one,” Preston said. “Especially with the younger population, we are seeing an increase. “

According to the IHA, the number of the first dose has doubled in the region since the week before the announcement, especially among those under 55.

According to the BC CDC, in Kelowna, about 84 percent have received their first dose of vaccine while 76 percent are fully immunized.

In Penticton, 83 percent have one stroke while 76 have both. In Vernon, 78 percent of residents have had a vaccine and 70 percent have been fully immunized.

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