Some front-line health care workers and long-term care residents in Squamish got a shot in the arm this week, literally, according to Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), as the COVID-19 vaccination program came to town.
Those eligible for the immunization at this stage in the vaccine roll-out include long-term care residents, staff, medical staff and essential visitors, as well as eligible acute care staff and other medical staff. After Squamish, select healthcare workers in Whistler and Pemberton will be next in line, according to VCH.
Those who are eligible are contacted directly by VCH.
"This is the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination in the community. At this time, COVID-19 vaccines are not available for the general public. Deliveries will continue to arrive and expand to other groups in the community in the weeks and months ahead, based on vaccine availability," reads a news release from the health authority.
Most other people in B.C. will be vaccinated starting in March.
"Vaccines do more than protect the people getting vaccinated they also protect everyone around them. The more people in a community who are vaccinated and protected from COVID-19, the harder it is for the virus to spread," the release added.
More information about the vaccination strategy and roll-out can be found on BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) website at: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/covid-19-vaccine
