Jordie Mark is looking forward to things getting back to normal.
The councillor from the Chiniki Band on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation brought his son to a vaccination clinic in Morley, Alta., on Thursday to get his second COVID-19 shot.
“It gives that peace of mind and kind of knowing that we have the whole summer to look forward to,” Mark said.
Three reserves in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains west of Calgary make up the Stoney Nakoda.
The First Nation had early success keeping COVID-19 infections low — at one point there were zero cases on the reserve — but an outbreak in the past two weeks in Morley has resulted in 109 active cases.
“You can’t help but think a couple of months ago — or even a couple of weeks ago — if more of our members chose to get the vaccine, our numbers wouldn’t be as high as they are today,” Mark said.
Community elders led a traditional ceremony blessing the vaccine and the clinic offered prizes and invited two special guests from nearby Canmore, Alta., to encourage people to come and get vaccinated.
Olympians Beckie Scott and Clara Hughes signed autographs and posed for photos. Hughes, who won multiple medals over four Olympics in cycling and long-track speedskating, got her second shot as well.
“It’s really emotional. I think everybody has been through so much in the pandemic. Vaccination is such a beautiful sign of hope,” she said.
“To be able to receive the vaccine here on the Stoney Nakoda land and to be invited to kick off the vaccination day is an honour.”
Dr. Aaron Khan, executive director and CEO for Stoney Health Services, said just over half of Morley’s 5,000 residents had been vaccinated as of Thursday.
“We see surrounding communities whose numbers are coming down, but our people are pretty resilient,” he said “I’m hopeful we will get over this hump and that’s why we’re trying to push this vaccination.”
Khan said one thing affecting the numbers is that about 1,600 of Morley’s residents are under the age of 12 and aren’t eligible for vaccinations.
Beckie Scott, winner of a gold medal in cross-country skiing at the 2002 Winter Games, was hopeful her and Hughes appearing at the clinic would help boost the vaccination drive.
“It’s a very personal decision, but my choice was to get the vaccine,” said Scott. “I really believe it’s the way forward out of this pandemic and getting back to normal.”