A large retirement home in Vernon is looking for answers after staff say their requests for vaccine information has fallen on deaf ears.
“Every care home deserves to know what’s going on, what needs to be ready, and when we are getting our vaccines,” said Delene Demeter, a concerned retirement home manager.
“We’ve been trying to get the vaccine here or even information about the vaccine since the beginning of January when we heard it was going to be available.”
Canterbury Court is a private independent-living residence with 47 people over the age of 90 and six people over the age of 100.
There are no publicly-funded residents at the home, according to Interior Health.
Which means, the retirement home and their residents fall under the ‘Phase 2’ of the B.C. vaccine rollout plan — something Demeter said she didn’t know.
“I would get the same answer all the time, ‘We are working on it, we are planning it, and it’s being scheduled’ and then I get referred to their website – which basically tells me nothing,” said Demeter.
Naturally, management, residents and family members are anxious to begin vaccinations.
Debbie Bolton’s mother lives at Canterbury Court, she said her 102-year-old mother has been waiting, patiently, for the vaccine.
“This is huge, this is life changing for her, she lived through the 1918 pandemic and I want her to live through this one,” said Bolton.
“We just don’t know when it’s coming, we have no information.”
The Ministry of Health has issued a statement regarding the retirement home concerns.
“Health authorities will start reaching out to community-based seniors aged 80 and older in the weeks ahead. This includes people in this age group in independent living facilities.
“More information about when community-based seniors can expect to be contacted will be available in the weeks ahead. B.C. is currently in ‘Phase 1’ of its COVID-19 immunization plan but in some instances where outbreaks are occurring groups identified in Phase 2 of the plan have begun to receive their first dose of vaccine.”
Canterbury Court so far has not had a single case of COVID-19 among residents or staff.