BANDITS, FRASER HEALTH PARTNER AT TWO MORE VACCINE CLINICS, BOLSTER PROMOTIONAL EFFORTS

LANGLEY, B.C., January 18, 2022 – The Fraser Valley Bandits announced Tuesday that the club has expanded its community partnership with Fraser Health to support non-clinical logistics at its COVID-19 immunization clinics at Langley Events Centre (LEC) and at Haney Place Mall in Maple Ridge.

Bandits staff are now on-site at four COVID-19 immunization clinics throughout the Fraser Health region, including the clinics at Abbotsford Ag Rec and Chilliwack Mall, to help streamline the process for people to receive their first, second, and booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Since March 2021, Bandits front office and game day staff have been working with Fraser Health, which serves more than 1.9 million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar, helping move people move through the clinics safely and efficiently.

Fraser Health recently expanded and reopened COVID-19 immunization clinics throughout the region, including the clinics at LEC and Haney Place Mall, to provide people with more opportunities to receive booster doses. 

To continue encouraging vaccinations, the Bandits will further allocate digital resources as part of its joint promotional campaign with Fraser Health, known as “Get your shot so we can all get back to the game,” which was originally announced last May. 

“We are proud to build upon our alignment with Fraser Health and to assist however we can with our mutual goal of achieving community immunity. The hard work exhibited by health care professionals across the province continues to inspire us and we hope this campaign can serve as one of many components in our joint fight against COVID-19,” said Bandits president Dylan Kular. 

The message behind the “Get your shot so we can all get back to the game” campaign is simple:

• Vaccines do more than protect the person getting immunized, they also protect everyone that person comes into contact with.
• In addition to following good public health advice, such as washing our hands, wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, and staying home when we are sick, vaccines are an additional action we can take to help protect ourselves and our loved ones against COVID-19 transmission and illness.

For a full listing of Fraser Health’s current clinics and hours of operation, please visit fraserhealth.ca/vax. 

“Diverse engagement and partnerships have been pivotal to Fraser Health’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy to reach as many people as quickly as possible. I’m grateful to the dedicated teams at Fraser Health, the ongoing support of the Fraser Valley Bandits and all of our industry, community, municipal and provincial partners,” said Dr. Victoria Lee, Fraser Health president and CEO. 

The campaign was originally rolled out on May 11, 2021 in an effort to promote a safe return to attending live events.

Since the debut of the campaign, the Bandits and various other professional sports teams have been able to welcome varying capacities of fans into venues thanks to increased immunity and residents across the Fraser Valley and BC who have gotten vaccinated. 

As a result of British Columbians’ commitment to safety and working toward immunity, the Bandits were able to host four consecutive sell-outs last season. 

Fraser Health is committed to ensuring everyone who wants additional protection against COVID-19 has access to a booster dose. Individuals can receive a booster dose when they have received an invitation to book from the Provincial Get Vaccinated system, six months after the date of their second dose. An individual must be invited to book a booster dose appointment.

Further information regarding registering for your vaccine can be found by clicking here. 

The Bandits begin the club’s fourth season of Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) competition this May. With 10 teams based in six provinces across Canada, the CEBL is the largest professional sports league in Canada.

Fraser Valley’s home opener at LEC is currently scheduled for Saturday, June 4. All regular season games will be live streamed on CEBL+, the CBC Gem streaming service, cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices.

Head to thebandits.ca for more information or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Andrew Savory, Vice President, (604) 217-6213, asavory@thebandits.ca

For Fraser Health, please contact:

Fraser Health media line: 604-613-0794

About the Fraser Valley Bandits:

The Fraser Valley Bandits are British Columbia’s professional basketball team. As the westernmost club in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Bandits offer an entertainment experience that combines a fast-paced game day atmosphere with a presentation of some of Canada’s top professional athletes within a world-class venue at Langley Events Centre (LEC). A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August.

About Fraser Heath:

Fraser Health is responsible for the delivery of hospital and community-based health services to over 1.9 million people in 20 diverse communities from Burnaby to Fraser Canyon on the traditional territories of the Coast Salish and Nlaka’pamux Nations.