It appears Kelowna’s mayor has been vaccinated for COVID-19, though he’s much younger than the age groups currently receiving shots under the province’s vaccine rollout.
On Tuesday, the City of Kelowna issued a press release regarding media inquiries about Mayor Colin Basran, 43, being vaccinated.
The three-paragraph statement was brief, but said, in essence, that Basran was vaccinated because he’s also a health-care sector volunteer. It did not say when the mayor was vaccinated.
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“Mayor Basran is among hundreds of volunteers in the healthcare sector to receive a vaccine,” said the city’s release.
“Volunteers in healthcare settings were offered a vaccine by Interior Health during Phase 2 of the rollout, due to their contact with patients, frontline staff and visitors.”
The city said that Basran has volunteered in the KGH coffee shop for more than a year, helping to raise money for the KGH Foundation.
Before that, said the city, Basran hosted an annual golf tournament that raised nearly $100,000 to support patient care.
According to the provincial government, B.C. is currently in Phase 3 of its vaccine rollout, This month and next, people between the ages of 60 and 79 are eligible to be vaccinated, starting with the 75 to 79 age group.
The 40 to 43 age group won’t be eligible for vaccination until late May or early June.
For more about the province’s rollout, click here.
Global News has reached out for more information.
Basran was elected as mayor in 2014 and was re-elected in 2018.
The release also featured a statement from KGH Foundation CEO Doug Rankmore that said “it is the responsible thing to do if you’re coming into contact with people in a patient care setting. Our volunteers are vital to the hospital’s ability to meet a variety of needs and their safety is critical to our overall success.”
