Culturally aware COVID-19 vaccination clinics focusing on Indigenous youth age 12 to 17 will be held in June and August in London, Ont.
The Southwest Ontario Aboriginal Health Access Centre (SOAHAC), N’Amerind Friendship centre, Atlohsa Family Healing Services and the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) are once again partnering to offer the clinics, which will see first doses on Wednesday, June 30 and second doses administered Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Both clinics will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the N’Amerind gymnasium at 260 Colborne St. in London.
In a release, SOAHAC says the clinics “have been created to support cultural familiarity and engage those who may feel uncomfortable in traditional healthcare settings.”
“We are making great progress on vaccine distribution, but there is still an important road ahead,” says SOAHAC CEO Brian Dokis.
“We are committed to making sure that every Indigenous youth who wants a vaccine is able to access one, in a supportive setting.”
N’Amerind board chair Brian Hill adds that “collaborations like this mean that we can increase comfort and access in a way that can help protect individual health and important community connections.”
SOAHAC adds that Indigenous Peoples “experience chronic health conditions at a rate that is between two and 10 times higher than the general population” linked to “disproportionate levels of poverty, adverse living conditions and racism” and that Indigenous Peoples are a priority group within the province’s vaccine strategy.
The newly announced clinics are the latest in a multi-faceted vaccination strategy and SOAHAC says over 7,000 vaccines have been administered so far via these culturally aware programs.