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.

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead for the Manitoba Vaccine Implementation Task Force, talks about 'Menno & Vaccinated' t-shirts in a press conference Wednesday

‘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.