Image Credit: CFJC Today / Adam Donnelly

By Jill Sperling

COVID-19 VACCINE

VIDEO: Long-term care worker becomes first to receive COVID-19 vaccine in Kamloops

Dec 22, 2020 | 3:35 PM

KAMLOOPS — The COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Kamloops. Tuesday (Dec. 22), a healthcare worker was the first to receive her dose.

Kelsey Medhurst is an assisted living care coordinator at the Hamlets at Westsyde and a licensed practical nurse.

WATCH: (Video Credit: CFJC Today / Adam Donnelly and Jill Sperling)

“It’s a huge deal to get it today,” Medhurst said. “I feel so fortunate that I’m not only the first one to get it, but one of many healthcare workers working towards stopping COVID.”

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According to Interior Health Medical Health Officer Dr. Carol Fenton, workers in long-term care have been selected as the first to receive the vaccine.

“The reason for that is it’s a population that the vaccine is likely to work really well in because working age people tend to be young and healthy and they’re the most important population to vaccinate in order to keep the virus out of our long-term care centres which are very vulnerable to outbreaks as well as morbidity and mortality from the virus itself,” Fenton said.

The dose administered today is the first of two, with the second to be administered within a few weeks’ time.

“We expect the first dose to take about two weeks to build the antibodies in the immune system,” Fenton said. “The second dose is due between days 21 and 28, so between three and four weeks after the first dose.”

Elsewhere, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry received her first dose of the vaccine in Victoria today.

Dr. Henry receives her vaccine (Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC)

Even as the vaccinations have begun, people are encouraged to continue to take precautions against the virus.

“We will need to adhere to all of our prevention measures and even if it does look like the vaccine does look like it works very well for preventing transmission,” Fenton said. “We will need the prevention measure until we have 75 to 85 per cent of the population vaccinated.” It will take some time before the entirety of the population has access to the vaccine, but as the process begins in Kamloops those in health care have hope for better days ahead.

“I feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but I’m still always worried,” Medhurst said. “I’m just looking forward to things getting better and I hope that everyone still continues to do their part.”