About 12,000 residents of Prince Rupert and Port Edward will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in the next two-and-a-half weeks.
In an effort to stop persistent clusters of the virus, this community will become one of the first in Canada where all eligible residents will be vaccinated.
Appointments started at 9 a.m. sharp Monday.
Martha Wainwright, 96, and Perry Boyle were two of the first seniors in Prince Rupert to receive the shot.
“The risk is to us up here is profound and that was I think why our town has asked us to be more strict, recognizing that our hospital would not be able to handle a significant outbreak if it all happened at once,” city councillor Blair Mirau told Global News.
The civic centre has been transformed into a COVID-19 vaccine clinic with 12 stations inside and around 1,000 people scheduled to come in on Monday alone.
The clinic is being operated by Northern Health with support from the BC CDC and First Nations Health Authority and 400 volunteers who live in Prince Rupert.
The first day week of this mass vaccination effort will target people between the ages of 60 and 95. The goal is to have a dose in the arm of every adult in Prince Rupert by the end of the month.
-with files from Emad Agahi.