According to the province’s interactive map for vaccination rates, the Mackenzie County area has the lowest in the entire province.
During question periods in provincial announcements on May 25 and 26, media outlets across the province have asked why the rate is so low in the area compared to the rest of the province.
Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw responded to the questions saying ““it may be a combination of more, younger residents along with the government needing to do more to promote it up there.”
High Level Mayor, Crystal McAteer says people have a choice to vaccinate or not, but believes their rates are higher than what the province projects. “A lot of the First Nations reserve information might not be put into the system yet.” McAteer is aware of some communities are reluctant to vaccinating in the Mackenzie region, but says in confidence the people in the town of High Level are vaccinated or are planning to do so.
The Mackenzie County region on the government’s website as of May 27, 2021, shows less than 12% of eligible constituents in the area have received a Covid-19 vaccine.
-Erika Rolling, Trending 55 Newsroom
