A COVID-19 vaccine is administered at a pop-up vaccination clinic in Vernon (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Latest figures

COVID-19 vaccination rates up slightly in Vernon and Coldstream

Oct 20, 2021 | 6:00 AM

The first and second dose vaccination rates for the Vernon/Coldstream region continued a slow climb over the past week.

Data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) shows that while the region’s first dose vaccination rate for all eligible residents did not change from the 84 per cent recorded on Monday, Oct. 11, the second dose rate was up by one per cent to 78 per cent as of Oct. 18.

The BCCDC’s data showed, as of Monday Oct. 18, 78 per cent of Vernon and Coldstream residents age 12-17, 78 per cent of locals age 18-49, and 90 per cent of residents age 50 and over have received their first dose. The second dose rates for those age groups were 68, 68 and 87 per cent.

With the first dose vaccination rate for Vernon/Coldstream not increasing over the past week, the area remained ninth in vaccination rates for the BCCDC’s Okanagan region. The highest rate was recorded in Kamloops Centre South at 93 per cent

Vernon/Coldstream: 84% (first dose), 78% (second dose)
Armstrong/Spallumcheen: 77%, 70%
North Okanagan/Lumby: 77%, 71%
Lake Country: 82%, 76%
Central Okanagan Rural: 80%, 74%
Downtown Kelowna: 88%, 81%
Glenmore: 91%, 84%
Okanagan Mission: 89%, 84%
West Kelowna: 85%, 79%
Enderby: 71%, 64%
Salmon Arm: 79%, 74%
Penticton: 87%, 81%
Summerland: 87%, 82%
Merritt: 80%, 72%
Lower Thompson: 81%, 74%
Kamloops Centre North: 85%, 78%
Kamloops Centre South: 93%, 87%
Princeton: 82%, 76%
Keremeos: 81%, 75%
Southern Okanagan: 89%, 82%
Kettle Valley: 72%, 65%
Grand Forks: 79%, 73%

Housing Starts

Local housing construction declined in June, down for year so far

5h ago

Employee Safety

Employers responsible for worker safety as heat wave hits Okanagan: WorksSafeBC

21h ago

mid- to high 30s

Cooling centres opening in Vernon as heat wave hits the Okanagan

22h ago

The communities that saw the greatest vaccination increases were Merritt, Kamloops Centre South and Kettle Valley, where the first dose rates rose by one per cent and the second dose rates by two per cent over the course of a week. Glenmore, Penticton, Summerland and Lower Thompson each saw both first and second vaccination rates rise by one per cent over the week.

The provincial first dose vaccination rate for Monday, Oct.18 was reported at 89.2 per cent, while 83.4 per cent of all British Columbians age 12 and over had received their second jab.

The BCCDC also reports that new daily case rates per 100,000 people between Oct. 12 and 18 for Vernon/Coldstream was eight, up from the seven recorded the week before.

Vernon/Coldstream’s rate was matched by the West Kelowna region, and, despite the increase, was still one of the lowest in the Okanagan behind Lake Country, Grand Forks, Kettle Valley and Southern Okanagan.

Vernon/Coldstream: eight (new cases daily per 100,000 people)
Armstrong/Spallumcheen: 13
North Okanagan/Lumby: 17
Lake Country: four
Central Okanagan Rural: 19
Downtown Kelowna: 13
Glenmore: 10
Okanagan Mission: 11
West Kelowna: eight
Enderby: 37
Salmon Arm: 16
Penticton: nine
Summerland: nine
Merritt: 19
Lower Thompson: 14
Kamloops Centre North: 12
Kamloops Centre South: 12
Princeton: nine
Keremeos: 52
Southern Okanagan: seven
Kettle Valley: four
Grand Forks: four

Keremeos’s daily new case rates more than doubled from the 20 average recorded the previous Monday, marking the biggest increase in the region. The community that saw the biggest decline Monday was Lake Country, which had a daily new case rate of 20 the week prior.

by Liam Verster

View Comments