Pop-up clinics target those who are still unvaccinated in Sask.
Last week the province announced it would be shifting its focus from mass vaccinations to outreach, targeting those who are unvaccinated.
“We have noticed that at our mass immunization clinics and our drive-thrus, the uptake has been less,” said Dr. Kevin Wasko with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
Wasko says they’re bringing clinics to where people live, work and play so that it’s more convenient to receive the vaccine.
Some of the places people can expect to see walk-in clinics, according to a news release from the SHA, include planned summer events, university campuses, retail locations, pow wows, provincial parks and more.
Wasko says there is a lower uptake in the core neighborhoods of Saskatoon and Regina when it comes to getting vaccines.
“The barriers that may exist whether they’re time or transportation or whatever it is, can be erased for those individuals who can’t get the vaccine,” Wasko told CTV News.
'THEY KNOW IT'S HERE'
Saskatoon Food Bank & Learning Centre executive director Laurie O’Connor agrees.
She says the pop-clinic feels easier for people to receive the vaccine.
“They know it’s here, they can come from all over and they can wait here without us having to sort of move them from one place in the building to another,” O’Connor said.
The pop-up at the food bank was open on Wednesday and saw more than 40 people vaccinated.
O’Connor says people in the core of Saskatoon are “lagging” when it comes to vaccines and the food bank participating gives a more “health equity lens.”
“We also want to be that organization that is promoting vaccinations and moving forward in a really good way,” O’Connor said.
O’Connor says she’d love to see a pop up at the food bank once a week and that talks are already underway with the SHA on the next pop-up clinic.
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