All residents of Heritage Life Personal Care Home in Niverville who want to be vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus have now had that opportunity.

CEO Wes Hildebrand says his tenants were first given the chance mid-January and were offered a second opportunity this past week.

“Those were exciting days for us,” he remarks, “and what made it even more exciting is that 97 per cent of our residents actually opted 'in' for the vaccine. For us, that is a very very good percentage of buy in, it is huge.”

The personal care home has endured significant losses because of the virus over the past few months and Hildebrand says staff and tenants alike are now feeling a sense of security that they have not felt in a long time.

“The greater number of people in a community that take a vaccine, the greater the degree of protection because it limits that group that isn’t taking the vaccine from infecting other individuals.”

Hildebrand's primary concern right now is no longer his residents accidentally transmitting the virus between one another but in designated caregivers and family members accidentally bringing it in. He notes many of the caregivers are younger individuals and so have not yet been able to receive the vaccine, and some appear hesitant to do so for other reasons. To that end, the CEO urges his fellow Niverville residents to follow the admirable steps of their community's seniors.

“I know sometimes it is a losing battle trying to convince certain individuals, but I would encourage people to be open to the reality of COVID and when they do get the opportunity to take the vaccine, to seriously consider it," he stresses. "It is more than just protecting themselves, it is about protecting the people around them.”

According to the most recent information available, the facility has had 38 confirmed cases of the virus in senior residents and 10 deaths. Right now there is one active case of COVID-19 at Heritage Life Personal Care Home.

Meanwhile, Hildebrand expects it will not be long before the residents of the nearby assisted living and supportive housing units are eligible to receive their own vaccinations.

“We have been informed that we are at the upper end of that list once we get enough vaccines in our province.”

Hildebrand commends the Regional Health Authority, Southern Health, for being great to work with during their recent challenges and is hopeful the situation in his building will only continue to improve, in part, because of their help.