Covid vaccine (file photo/Interior Health)

By Pete McIntyre

For eight months

Vernon Rec Centre Auditorum to be used for Covid vaccination clinics

Mar 4, 2021 | 2:36 PM

The Vernon Recreation Centre will be a key site over the next several months in the local effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.

The centre’s auditorium will be used for Covid vaccination clinics, meaning it, and the Sunset breakout room, will be closed to the public beginning March 8, for approximately eight months or until Interior Health no longer requires the space for vaccinations.

Auditorium at Vernon Recreation Centre will be used for Covid vaccination clinics (File photo/Vernon Matters Staff)

Recreation Services will be working to find alternative spaces for programs and rentals that had been booked into the auditorium.

“The use of the auditorium for the vaccination clinics will have some impact on public usage, however Recreation Services has already identified alternative locations for most programs and staff will be in touch with user groups to discuss possible alternative locations for their events. Events must meet the Provincial Health Orders regarding safe, play environments,” Doug Ross, Director, Recreation Services, said.

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Updated program information is available online at www.gvrec.ca and the Spring & Summer Greater Vernon Recreation Active Living Guide will be coming out on March 12.

“The use of the auditorium for the vaccination clinics will be for a limited time, and the benefits to the Greater Vernon community outweigh any inconvenience that may occur,” Mayor Victor Cumming remarked. “We are happy to be working with Interior Health to host these vaccination clinics and we are looking forward to a time this fall when we can hopefully return to more normal activities.”

During the vaccination clinics, people attending the clinics will be encouraged to park in the Curling Rink parking lot off of 39th Avenue and access a temporary entrance which is being established at the north end of the auditorium.

People going to the Aquatic Centre or recreation programs will continue to access the Recreation Centre through the main entrance.

Vaccination Clinic Information

The next phase of B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan is launching and Interior Health will be moving ahead to provide immunizations to many more people; starting with those who are most vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19.

As of March 8, booking will be open to seniors age 90 and over and Indigenous seniors age 65 and over by calling 1-877-740-7747 from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., PST, seven days a week.
The age eligibility of who can call to book appointments will change over time.

Interior Health’s Phase 2 vaccine information is available here: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/covid-19-vaccines/

Vernon Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu, who is a nurse, said health authorities will communicate clearly to local communities how the process will work for residents, including where clinics will be located, and how they can get to the clinics for vaccines.

She said seniors over age 90, and Indigenous elders over 65, can start booking appointments for vaccines next Monday (Mar. 8), with vaccinations starting as early as March 15. Seniors 85-89 can book starting March 15, and seniors 80-84 can book beginning March 22.

Sandhu says people over 80 years old will have three ways to get the shots.

• clinics that people can come into on their own;
• processes that can enable people to come into clinics with help from the health authority; and
• outreach into people’s homes if they are unable to get to a clinic.

“For Phase 3, for people under 80 years old, there are going to be hundreds of clinics that are larger in order to serve more people, and health authorities are currently considering things like distance from other potential sites, and transit accessibility,” Sandhu told Vernon Matters.

The regional health authority call centres will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week:

• Interior Health: 1-877-740-7747 ‡
• Fraser Health: 1-855-755-2455
(Fraser Health also has online booking: Fraserhealth.ca/vaccinebookinginfo)
• Island Health: 1-833-348-4787
• Northern Health: 1-844-255-7555 ‡
• Vancouver Coastal Health: 1-877-587-5767