Burnaby post-secondary students scrambling to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 so they can move into student housing, play sports and eat at school pubs will have plenty of chances to get the jab on campus in the coming weeks.
Fraser Health has announced a slew of pop-up immunization clinics at SFU’s Burnaby Mountain campus and BCIT.
Clinics are scheduled at SFU Burnaby’s Convocation Hall on Aug. 27 and 30 and on Sept. 8, 13, 17.
On Sept. 14, there will be a clinic in rooms 2200 and 2210 of the Discovery 1 building, and three additional clinics are also scheduled on Sept. 2, 9 and 22 in the Residence East Tower multipurpose room.
Burnaby BCIT students can walk in and get their shot on Aug. 27, Sept. 3 and Sept. 10.
All the pop-up clinics are also open to friends, family and members of the public who are 12 and older – including those who don’t have personal health numbers and people who are not B.C. residents, according to Fraser Health.
People looking for their second shot should have either gotten an invitation to book a second dose from the provincial Get Vaccinated system or be at least 28 days from their first dose.
The health authority is encouraging people to bring their COVID-19 immunization record card if they have it.
“We know the safety of our campuses increases when people are vaccinated,” Advanced Education Minister and Burnaby-Deer Lake MLA Anne Kang said in a Fraser Health news release Thursday. “These on-campus clinics make it easy and convenient to get the vaccine. Make the choice to protect your community and play an active role in ensuring a safe return to school this fall.”
On Tuesday, Kang and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced post-secondary students would be returning to in-person classes this fall with a new mask order and proof-of-vaccination requirements for some settings, including on-campus housing, on-campus restaurants, gyms, indoor club meetings, indoor concerts and indoor sporting events.
Proof of vaccination will not be required to attend in-person classes but masks will.
When asked why proof of vaccination would not be required for people attending classes in person, Henry said the back-to-school plan was designed to balance risk with other important considerations.
“We know that the in-class setting is not the risky setting,” she told reporters, “and it’s incredibly important that we don’t put barriers in place for people receiving education, and that includes post-secondary education, so it is a balancing that we have had.”
One exception will be health sciences students doing practicums and providing care in healthcare settings, Henry said.
When Kang was asked what will happen with students who’ve secured campus housing but aren’t yet vaccinated, the minister said those details were being “worked out at this moment.”
“We’ll be working with colleges, institutes and universities that provide student housing to have more information in the days to come,” she said.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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