Vaccination rates around the Okanagan vary by neighbourhood, city

Vaccination rates around the Okanagan continue to inch up, though they vary significantly by both city and neighbourhood.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday that this last week was a success in terms of immunization, particularly with those under 30 years old in both the Interior Health and Northern Health regions.

The BC CDC released detailed information on vaccination rates this week, showing the Central Okanagan, as of Aug. 24, has 79 per cent of people 12 and older with at least one vaccination.  At the beginning of the month, it was pegged only at 76 per cent.

1:44 Good news amidst growing B.C. COVID-19 numbers

The number is lower than the overall provincial number figure for those age 12 and up of 84.2 per cent and seemingly comes down to significant variation from one neighbourhood to another.

Glenmore, for example, has 83 per cent of its population over the age of 12 with at least one shot, while Okanagan Mission has 84 per cent, and downtown Kelowna has 82 per cent.

On the lower end of the vaccination, spectrum is Rutland, which has a 75 per cent vaccination rate for people 12 and older, Lake Country is at 74 per cent and West Kelowna is at 79 per cent. Central Okanagan rural, which includes Peachland, has a vaccination rate of 74 per cent.

3:51 Horgan calls COVID-19 vaccine a ‘majority issue,’ says businesses not wanting to enforce vaccine card ‘regrettable’

The Southern Okanagan, Penticton and Summerland have a vaccination rate of 81 to 84 per cent vaccination rate, while nearby Keremeos has 76 per cent.

The North Okanagan has a similar disparity depending on which town or city that’s being looked at. Vernon Centre and Coldstream have 78 per cent of the population 12 and older with one shot under their belt, while North Okanagan Lumby has a 71 per cent vaccine coverage rate and Armstrong -Spallumcheen has 70 per cent.

Enderby is still the regional laggard with only 63 per cent of its residents 12 and older with a vaccination.

2:13 B.C. rally pushes for tougher COVID-19 measures in schools

In Tuesday’s COVID-19 briefing, Dr. Henry said that cases are still highest where vaccination rates are the lowest in the province.

She also pointed out that cases are coming down in the Central Okanagan region, while the North Okanagan is having some challenges due to heat and wildfires waylaying vaccination clinics.

B.C. reported 655 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, with 242 of those coming from within Interior Health.