Almost 500 people get jabs at North Van's 'Walk-in Wednesday'

Over 470 people on the North Shore took advantage of “Walk-in Wednesday” this week to get first and second COVID-19 vaccinations at the North Vancouver clinic.

At North Vancouver’s ICBC Claim Centre clinic, 472 people decided to get jabbed, with no appointment necessary. Of those, 165 people got first doses and 307 people got their second doses of vaccine.

At a press conference Thursday, Health Minister Adrian Dix described the province-wide walk-in clinic day as a success, noting clinics like the one in North Vancouver were “much busier than usual.”

Across B.C., over 80 per cent of the 20,000 vaccine doses set aside for walk-ins were used, said Dix.

Provincewide, over 70 per cent of people over 18 have now received two doses of the vaccine. Among the eligible population over 12, almost 82 per cent have received one dose and 68 per cent have received two doses.

Vaccination rates high on North Shore

In parts of the North Shore, vaccination rates are significantly higher – among the highest in the province. About 90 per cent of those 12 and older have received first doses in the District of North Vancouver for instance, according to B.C.'s Centre for Disease Control.

Currently, the province is seeing a renewed surge of COVID cases among people in the Kelowna area, particularly among younger people, said Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s medical health officer, on Wednesday. She added over 90 per cent of cases are among those who have not been fully vaccinated. All of the people in ICU with COVID are people who haven’t been vaccinated, she said.

However, thanks to high vaccination rates in older people, “we’re not seeing the widespread transmission to people who are at risk,” she said.

Both Dix and Henry repeated that ‘vaccine passports’ will not be required for accessing essential services in B.C. But non-essential services – from being able to dine in restaurants, attend concerts or sit in movie theatres – may be another matter.

Unvaccinated could face 'consequences' - Dix

“No you’re not obliged to get vaccinated in B.C. or anywhere else in Canada. But there are consequences if you don't,” said Dix.

He added B.C. is working on a system that will make it easier for people to access their own immunization records.

So far, no vaccine has been approved yet for use in children under 12. Henry said, however, that B.C. is still not seeing a surge in cases in children under 12, even with the growing presence of the more-transmissible Delta variant. The variant now makes up about 90 per cent of cases in the Interior and about 60 per cent of cases in Vancouver Coastal Health.

On Friday, VCH announced that it is closing some mass vaccination clinics due to significant reduction in demand. On the North Shore, the West Vancouver clinic at the West Vancouver Community Centre closed Aug. 2.

The North Vancouver clinic on Lloyd Avenue will remain open, along with clinics at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver and the River Rock Theatre in Richmond. You can find a list of clinics and times they are open here.