Grande Prairie Regional College will be holding a pair of pop-up COVID-19 vaccine clinics at both the Grande Prairie and Fairview campuses.
Interim Vice-President Academic and Research Dr. Vanessa Sheane says while the school hasn’t made proof of vaccine mandatory for those returning to the classrooms this fall, they will encourage all students who wish to receive one to get it.
“To provide an opportunity, once students are back on campus if they haven’t had a convenient opportunity to get a vaccine yet, or maybe get their second dose,” she says.
“We are aligning our guidelines with the Chief Medical Officer of Health, so our COVID-19 stance and safety protocols very much align with what the province is saying,” she adds.
Dr. Sheane says with students heading back to class from across the province, the feeling she gets from both students and staff is everyone is looking forward to a safe return as possible.
“As we’ve seen through COVID-19, all communities have a different level of vaccine uptake, so there’s no real way for us to know that for sure beforehand, so we will see what next week brings and the uptake of the pop-up clinics,” she says.
“Generally, excitement to get back face to face, be on campus, not only for their classes but the other services and events we would have on campus in a non-covid year,” she adds.
The vaccine clinic at the Grande Prairie campus will be held from August 30th to September 3rd in the Alumni Lounge. The Fairview
campus clinic will take place on September 2nd in room FAC114.