The Beban Park Social Centre opened for mass appointment-only vaccinations on Monday, March 15. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

vaccination clinics

COVID mass vaccination clinics underway in Nanaimo and Parksville

Mar 15, 2021 | 12:24 PM

NANAIMO — Seniors with appointments are rolling up their sleeves to get their first COVID-19 shots.

Seniors at least 90-years-old living at home and Indigenous elders 65-years-old and up began receiving vaccinations in Nanaimo and Parksville on Monday, March 15.

Mary Anderson, a 79-year-old Metis woman, called her experience at the Beban Park Social Centre a breeze.

“It was very good, the hardest part was booking,” Anderson told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Anderson said she looked forward to life returning to normal in the coming weeks and months.

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“It was a great relief because my husband is high risk, he gets his shot next week. It has been a long year of isolation for us.”

Lorena Chee of Nanaimo lives with her 91-year-old mother who was eager to receive her first shot.

“She’s very happy to get it,” Chee said. “My kids live with us too and they work in grocery stores, so she’s been a little nervous about that.”

Nanaimo’s Beban Park Social Centre will be open daily from 9 a.m to 7 p.m. until Oct. 31 for COVID-19 vaccinations, according to Island Health.

The Nanaimo mass vaccination experience involves recipients checking in, lining up, receiving their vaccination, then waiting 15 minutes for adverse effects before leaving through a back door.

Ladysmith’s Aggie Hall opens its daily vaccination clinic Wednesday, March 17, while the Cedar Community Centre is scheduled to open on March 31.

Age-based bookings for the vaccine are one week ahead of schedule. Seniors between the ages of 80 and 84 and Indigenous elders 65 and up can book appointments through the week of Monday, March 15.

Age eligibility for making arrangements drops daily until everyone 80 and older can book their vaccine by the end of the week.

Vaccinations being administered for seniors 85-years-old and up are scheduled to begin next Monday, March 22 across B.C.

Added staff at call centres across B.C. have helped speed up the process and the province noted the centres are open daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Health Minister Adrian Dix has said a province-wide online system is expected within weeks.

— with files from The Canadian Press

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com
On Twitter: @reporterholmes