The mayor of Kamloops says the two COVID-19 vaccine clinics in the city should be able to vaccinate more than 1,000 people per day starting on Monday.

Ken Christian says he visited the Tournament Capital Centre vaccine clinic on Monday, and he applauded the efforts of Interior Health staff.

“I believe they have… the capacity for around 600 to 750 immunizations a day. If you add that to the capacity at McArthur Island, we should be, by next Monday, immunizing over 1,000 individuals a day in Kamloops,” Christian says.

He also applauded the work being done at ground level.

“There’s so many variables. They’ve got, first of all, an uncertain supply of vaccine, in terms of what’s coming into Kamloops. Secondly, they don’t know what kind of vaccine it is. And thirdly, and most importantly perhaps, is the issue related to whether it’s a single dose or a two-dose regimen. So there’s a lot of variables at play. And yet they’re up, they’re running, and they’re making a difference.”

The vaccine clinics at McArthur Island and the TCC each have room for 18 nursing stations, and they’re expected to get up to full speed sometime next month.

“And the more immune response we can get from the public, the faster we reach a tipping point in terms of herd immunity within the community. And then we can get back to more normal activities,” Christian says.

As of Thursday, in Interior Health, more than 86,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered, to more than 73,000 people. Interior Health has about 650,000 residents who are 18 and older.