UBC has announced that a COVID-19 vaccination site will be opening on campus starting Monday, March 29.
Operated by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), the clinic will be in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Building and will be open to eligible members of the public in accordance with BC’s COVID-19 immunization plan.
Rae Ann Aldridge, executive director of UBC Safety and Risk Services, said that the vaccination site in Pharmaceutical Sciences will run from March to August 2021, and will close by fall semester so that academic activities planned for the building are not disrupted.
Vaccination appointments will run daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Currently, BC is in the second phase of its four-phase immunization plan. This phase is set to last from February to April 2021.
Phase two includes seniors born in 1941 or earlier who were not immunized in phase one, Indigenous people born in 1956 or earlier, elders and additional Indigenous communities.
Priority groups such as hospital staff, vulnerable populations living and working in select settings, and staff in community home support and nursing services are also being immunized.
Those in the general population between 18 and 34 won’t be eligible until phase 4, scheduled from May to June 2021.
As BC’s vaccine roll-out continues, the new vaccination clinic at UBC will be offering vaccines approved by Health Canada to eligible populations in the region.
“VCH is actively redeploying clinical staff, recruiting health care providers and mobilizing volunteers to ensure vaccination clinics have sufficient resources and support to deliver on our commitment to vaccinate our eligible residents as safely and efficiently as possible,” a VCH spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
“As we continue to expand immunizations to other eligible populations, we will scale up our resourcing across VCH vaccination clinics to meet the needs of communities in our region.”
VCH encouraged medical and nursing students to apply for positions at its vaccination clinics.
The BC COVID-19 Medical Student Response Team, founded by UBC medical students, said it has developed a strong partnership with VCH. Representatives for the Medical Student Response Team said in an email to The Ubyssey that “it is certainly possible that medical students will be vaccinating there once the clinic is operational.”
The team has even started a Facebook page to help make vaccine data more accessible to the general public.
They hope to see members of the public at local vaccination clinics like the one opening at UBC.
“Getting vaccinated is one of the most important things that we can do to stop the pandemic and keep our communities safe,” the team said.
“It’s an honour for the Medical Student Response Team to participate in these crucial efforts and play a role in the efficient delivery of vaccines across the province. When it’s your turn to get vaccinated, we hope to see you at your local vaccination clinic!”