VICTORIA -- Staff are putting the finishing touches on Langford’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Eagle Ridge Community Centre.
Outside the building, a crew of workers from Victoria Contracting had painted four new disability parking stalls and ground down the cement at an entrance to the building to allow easier access for people in wheelchairs.
Dustin Schmidt was one of the workers doing the job.
“It’s actually super exciting,” he said. “It’s something you never expect to find in your life… going through a pandemic and all these kinds of crazy things, and now we're helping get set up for the vaccinations so hopefully we can get rid of this thing.”
Inside the building, the dry floor arena has been transformed. There are dozens of chairs and tables where people will get their COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks and months.
Although the site in Langford and one in Parksville have been identified by their local mayors, most of the locations of the 172 clinics planned for communities across B.C have not been announced.
But that is expected to change next week, according to Island Health’s chief public health officer Dr. Richard Stanwick, who said Wednesday that at least some of the clinic sites will be announced by the province on Monday.
“What we'll see is at least the initial sites where the vaccine will be provided,” said Stanwick.
Meanwhile, despite the enthusiasm in Langford, there is some concern farther up the island, where four Cowichan Tribes members have died
On Wednesday, the Cowichan Tribes received more vaccine but it was a week later than expected. It will be 12 days from its arrival before those second doses get into the arms of seniors and Elders in the community.
Derek Thompson, with the Cowichan Tribes Health Authority, says those second doses will be administered to 661 seniors and Elders, starting the week of March 8.
He says the delay means the second shot won’t happen within the 42 days currently recommended between a first and second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
“Not only a worry or a concern for us, but to the rest of province,” he said. “Whenever there’s a delay of those vaccines to the province, that just means there’s a delay to everybody else.”
Stanwick says there's no need to worry. “That is still well within the safety range for administering the second dose,” he said.
Scheduling first doses for those British Columbians 80 years old and older will be revealed Monday.