BANFF – The Town of Banff is bringing back the COVID-19 vaccine bus to encourage more residents to get the jab.
The bus will be located at Banff Town Hall on Monday, Nov. 8, from 3 to 7 p.m. and on Tuesday, Nov. 9, from noon to 3 p.m.
Alison Gerrits, the Town of Banff’s acting director of emergency management, said the goal of bringing back the vaccine bus is to get as many people in the community vaccinated as possible.
About 8,685 people in Banff/ID 9 are fully vaccinated as of Nov, 3, but she said there are still about 1,200 people who received a first dose that haven’t had a second dose yet.
“It will help us in getting to higher rates of vaccination community-wide, which will benefit everyone," said Gerrits.
The walk-up vaccine bus is easy, convenient and free.
People don’t have to register and an Alberta health care card is not required, which Gerrits said may be appealing to some of the tourist town’s residents.
“We also want people to be aware that third doses – boosters – for those that qualify such as seniors and those who received two doses of AstraZeneca are also going to be available,” she said.
Gerrits said it is possible that some residents may be holding off on getting a vaccine because they had previously contracted COVID, recovered and believe they are now fully protected.
She said more than 1,100 residents contracted COVID since the pandemic began.
“But as cited by Alberta Health, evidence suggests immunity after infection may not last very long or be as effective against variants,” she said. “Getting vaccinated will strengthen your immunity to give you the best protection.”
Those vaccinated will have access to services and businesses in Banff that are taking part in the province’s vaccine passport program, also known as the Restrictions Exemption Program (REP). This includes the Fenlands recreation centre.
As of Nov. 3, Banff has recorded a total of 1,126 COVID cases, including 22 active cases. One death has been recorded in Banff.
In Banff and Lake Louise, 8,720 people are fully immunized and 9,932 have had at least one dose.
Province-wide, there are currently 6,911 active cases. There are 691 people in hospital, including 159 in intensive care units. There have been 322,989 total cases in Alberta since the pandemic began and 3,119 deaths.
As of Oct. 25, anyone accessing a business, venue and service participating in REP will need to provide government-issued proof of having received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine at least 14 days earlier.
Those who are not fully vaccinated can still choose to provide a privately paid negative COVID-19 test from within the previous 72 hours or valid proof of medical exemption.
According to government statistics provided on Monday (Nov. 1), 80 per cent of eligible Albertans are now fully vaccinated and 87 per cent have had at least one jab in the arm.
While first doses provide strong protection against severe outcomes from COVID-19, provincial health officials say second doses are needed to get the best and most long-lasting protection against the virus.
"While we continue to see the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations decline, this trend could reverse quickly if we are not careful," said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, on Monday. "We need as many people as possible to choose vaccine protection to help keep numbers moving in the right direction."
