Northern Health mixes things up to improve vaccinations

While much of BC has achieved 75% vaccination, Northern Health is struggling, with lower than average rates in communities like Vanderhoof and Quesnel.

“We have a proportion of our population that are playing a wait and see attitude to see what mass immunization looks like and then make a decision later,” explains Bob Simpson, Mayor of Quesnel. “So there’s that reluctance part. And then we have our own share of the population who are opposed to vaccines, opposed to masks, et cetera.”

He says the region is also very rural in nature and it is a busy time of year for ranchers and farmers, who may not feel inclined to drop what they’re doing to come to town for a vaccine.

In an update, Northern Health noted this: As for current stats around vaccine administration/vaccine uptake – currently we are looking at 60% for 18+, 73% for 50+, and 57% for 12+. These numbers are growing bit by bit daily. We’d like to see 80% to help achieve herd immunity.”