A local teacher was recognized this week for creating a t-shirt brand that encourages his community to think positively about COVID-19 vaccinations.
Ryan Polinsky is a teacher at Steinbach Christian School who created his ‘Menno & Vaccinated’ t-shirts after reading some Facebook posts about vaccine hesitancy in the Winkler area.
In a provincial vaccination update press conference on Wednesday, Dr. Joss Reimer, medical officer of health and medical lead for the Manitoba Vaccine Implementation Task Force, highlighted Polinsky’s work.
‘We also had a local teacher and artist from Steinbach, who is creating a lot of positive buzz by his ‘Menno & Vaccinated’ shirts, as well as buttons that can be ordered, and they're creating a sense of community connection to vaccination amongst Mennonite Manitobans’
While Polinsky admits sales are not huge the idea has received a lot of attention. ‘It has generated a lot of good discussion online and even in person.’
And his reaction to being singled out in a province-wide press conference? ‘It was really neat.’
Polinsky says his motivation is about finding a way forward and out of the pandemic. ‘With the shirts, I wanted to emphasize a sense of community and encouragement towards one another as we go through this pandemic, and I think most importantly, I want to show support towards the nurses and the frontline workers.’
'I think if we can do anything, it can be just a small step of getting a vaccine and putting it stop to this and we can just do that one at a time.’
You can purchase Ryan Polinsky's 'Menno & Vaccinated' products here.