Vaccination uptake in Okanagan grows; still below provincial rate

The Okanagan’s COVID-19 immunization rates are on the rise, as a previous disparity in vaccine uptake between neighbourhoods and cities is starting to narrow.

On Wednesday, the BC Centre for Disease Control released another week of data on vaccination rates, showing 84 per cent of residents aged 12 and older in the Central Okanagan had at least one dose as of Sept. 20. About a month ago, that number was only 79 per cent.

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As was also the case last month, the vaccination rates vary slightly by neighbourhood, but now the gaps are smaller.

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The rate for those 12 and older is 86 per cent in downtown Kelowna, 87 per cent in Okanagan Mission, and 87 per cent in Glenmore. Last month, those numbers were 82, 84 and 83 per cent, respectively.

In Rutland, the vaccination rate for eligible residents grew the most, and is now 80 per cent. Last month, the neighbourhood was only at 75 per cent.

Central Okanagan Rural, which includes Peachland and Joe Rich, lags with a one-shot vaccination rate of 78 per cent, up from 74 per cent a month ago.

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The South Okanagan region, Penticton and Summerland have are at 85 to 87 per cent, while 79 per cent of people in nearby Keremeos have had one shot.

To the north, Vernon Centre and Coldstream have a one-shot vaccination rate of 82 per cent, Armstrong to Spallumcheen with 75 per cent, Salmon Arm with 77 per cent, while Enderby remains the lowest in the valley with only 68 per cent immunized.

It’s slightly below the provincial vaccination rate, which as of Tuesday, Sept. 21, showed that 87 per cent of eligible people 12 and older have received their first dose.

B.C. recorded 1,692 new cases of the virus from last Friday to Monday, and the number of people in hospitals and intensive care units took a big leap.

Nine more people were admitted to hospitals for a total of 307 in the province. Of those, 20 more were admitted to intensive care, where there are now 156 people receiving critical care.

Of the 156 people in the ICU, 139 are unvaccinated, or about 89 per cent. Thirty-five of them are under 50 years old and unvaccinated, and 99 people are on ventilators.