VANCOUVER -- The vaccine rollout in Prince Rupert, B.C., is going better than health officials expected, allowing them to open up the appointment booking system to every adult in the community.
Northern Health confirmed Tuesday that anyone who is 18 years of age or older can now schedule an immunization appointment, which is a few days ahead of schedule.
Prince Rupert city councillor Blair Mirau said the local mass-vaccination clinic – which is the first of its kind in the province – has been off to a great start.
"It's pretty surreal to be here, to be honest," he said from the clinic on Monday. "As of last week, this was not in anyone's minds, and it's been amazing to watch how quickly Northern Health and all of their partners have mobilized over 400 volunteers."
Northern Health said 998 people had been vaccinated by the end of Monday, and that there are currently 1,300 appointments booked in the small port city of about 12,000 people.
Local and provincial health officials announced their decision to offer COVID-19 vaccine to everyone in Prince Rupert last week, amid a sustained high rate of COVID-19 transmission and a growing number of clusters and outbreaks.
The move was initially criticized by some as "rewarding bad behaviour," though local officials were quick to push back against that perception.
"Unlike other cities that have seen anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests, the majority of Rupertites have been asking their leadership to be incredibly stringent," Mirau told CTV News at the time.
He also noted Prince Rupert had virtually no confirmed cases until the end of last year, and highlighted the community's high rates of poverty.
"We are all acutely aware that living in the north means we don't have access to the same level of health-care services as the Lower Mainland. That's exactly why our community has taken this pandemic so seriously from the very beginning," Mirau said.
