Second doses give Saskatoon children chance to win
The Saskatoon vaccine team has some extra incentive for children aged five to 11 who get their second COVID-19 vaccine dose – a chance to win a family heirloom toboggan for their winter adventures.
The toboggan was handmade and generously donated by Clem Fortin, who works in the vaccine clinics immunizing people and reconstituting COVID-19 vaccine.
“When we started immunizing children, I saw and heard many kids and parents struggling with the process,” said Fortin. “I was concerned they would be hesitant to return for their second poke. I had made a number of toboggans and offered one up to the kids and parents as incentive to come back to be fully vaccinated.”
The team has been collecting entries into the raffle at the Prairieland vaccine clinic and some of the other Saskatoon and area sites since early December. There is no cost for raffle tickets.
“One of our managers brought the idea forward to me, and said that Clement had approached her about the donation,” said Jenny Cushon, Vaccine Section Chief for the Saskatoon Integrated Health Incident Command Centre. “He’s an amazing woodworker, and does this in his spare time. He makes all sorts of things, and one of those things were these really beautiful wooden toboggans. We thought raffling it off for fully vaccinated children was a fantastic idea.”
The toboggan is one piece of a larger strategy to make children comfortable when they’re coming in for either their first or second vaccine dose.
“Our team has worked really hard to make the sites as child friendly as possible,” said Cushon. “They put a lot of thought into decorating, having a choose-your-own Band-Aid station and signing the wall of fame once they’ve been vaccinated. One of our physicians also worked with a designer on a specific sticker and a colouring sheet we could hand out. Having the toboggan draw is another fun way we can hopefully encourage children to get that second dose, and really get them that full level of protection.”
The contest will run until early March.