Vaccine bus aims to boost immunization uptake among young adults at U of C
An effort to get more young adults fully immunized against COVID-19 rolled onto the University of Calgary campus Wednesday.
Staff at the mobile vaccination bus hope to make it easier to get the shot for the 20 to 29 year old demographic, the age range that has the lowest vaccine uptake in Alberta.
Although young adults currently make up the largest share of active cases in the province, many haven't made getting immunized a priority, experts say.
"It could be lack of transportation, work schedule and appointments don't line up with the work schedule. Sometimes, it's pure laziness," said 19 to Zero community outreach manager Margaret Pateman.
While there are vaccine procrastinators, Pateman also says there are still many people who are vaccine hesitant.
"It's difficult because there's so much misinformation online, so we really try hard to get that correct data and that correct information in the right hands," she said.
Nearly 70 per cent of eligible Albertans are fully immunized against COVID-19, but barely 56 per cent of people between 20 and 29 years old have received both doses.
"For me, at least, the hesitancy comes from the Moderna vaccine and its, like, complications with... I think it's with clogging the arteries," said Michael Wang, a University of Calgary student who has not received his COVID-19 vaccine.
"But in general, I would say that I would be open to getting the vaccine as long as I get more clear indicators that they're more safe.”
The university is not mandating COVID-19 vaccines, but people who are unwilling or unable to be immunized must take rapid tests twice every week on campus.
The bus is also an option for international students to get the vaccine.
"I feel much safer for other people, because my roommate is actually a severe asthmatic and she already has her vaccine and I do not, so if I got (COVID-19), it would be really bad for her," said Reese Williams, a student who received her first dose on Wednesday.
She says the vaccine isn't easily accessible in Thailand, where she was previously going to school.
"It's super convenient (in Calgary). I live right there, so I just walked out of my building and I'm here.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.