Images from the rest-stop in Conrad, Montana (Photos provided by Dennis Wickliffe)

By Justin Goulet

cross-border program underway

Alberta-based truck driver gives rave review to vaccine rest-stop in Montana

May 11, 2021 | 1:37 PM

CONRAD, MT – Dennis Wickliffe is feeling great.

The Alberta-based truck driver was one of the first the receive his COVID-19 vaccine at a rest-stop in Conrad, Montana on Monday, May 10.

The roadside clinic is part of an agreement between the U.S. state and Canadian province announced last week.

Truck drivers moving across the Alberta-Montana border for work purposes can stop at the Conrad clinic, roll up their sleeve and get their shot, with no pre-booking required.

Wickliffe told Lethbridge News Now that staff on hand were “really nice.”

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“There was me and another five truck drivers standing there at the door waiting to get in and all we needed was our Alberta Health Card, then filled out a form, they put you into a trailer and you get your vaccine.”

He noted that although the primary target of the program is truck drivers transporting essential goods, he was told staff are not turning others away.

“Pretty much whoever goes there can get the shot.”

As part of this program, drivers are receiving the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Wickliffe said the process was quick, and he was able to easily incorporate getting his shot into his travel schedule.

“Where the rest area is, it’s quite a big one and parks about 30 trucks. You just pull in there, they’ve got a good setup where they are, there’s somebody waiting there with a form for you to fill out and you fill it out, [and] wait in line. It’s pretty much like you go in one door and you walk out of the other door once it’s done.”

Wickliffe said since getting his shot on Monday, he has felt a bit of soreness in his arm, but “that’s about it, nothing else, no headaches or anything.”

He noted that when he received his vaccine, the parking lot was roughly half-full and as the morning went on, more and more drivers arrived.

“I highly recommend it, because I was doubting getting it. I definitely wasn’t 100 per cent sure on getting it but when I saw [the rest-stop] there, I thought, ‘you know what, I’ll go for it’.”

The program will take place daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. until May 23.

(Lethbridge News Now)