B.C.’s top doctor says she does ‘not expect’ immunization will be mandatory in the province.
“We have no mandatory immunizations in this country and in this province, and we do not expect that COVID immunization will be mandatory either,” Dr. Bonnie Henry said on Wednesday. “Having said that, there are some key positions where we know the risk of transmission … can be very high.”
Henry did note that she will be strongly recommending that workers in certain industries which have been hit hard during the pandemic, roll up their sleeves and get the vaccine when it is available, which could be as early as January 2021.
“So we will be strongly encouraging everybody in those settings to be immunized and if people are thinking about going into those settings and don’t believe in immunization, then they should look for other things to do,” she said.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province will make as much information as possible to engage, educate, and involve people in what he called an ‘important decision.’
“I think it’s nice to talk about a situation of broad immunization, and we’re looking forward to that,” he said. “Initially, we are going to get the vaccine that we get and make the decisions based on public health advice required to deliver that vaccine.”
B.C. has already created a provincial vaccination team which will be headed by Dr. Ross Brown, the vice-president of pandemic response for Vancouver Coastal Health.
“We are sparing no effort to ensure that that goes well,” Dix said, calling the immunization for COVID-19 the province’s “most significant immunization program” in its history.
Henry meanwhile says she is confident that a COVID-19 vaccine that is approved for use in Canada will be both safe and effective.
“I know that we are waiting for these, particularly in those areas where people are most vulnerable and we can protect people very rapidly using these new vaccines that will be available very soon,” she added.
Health Canada is currently reviewing vaccine candidates from Pfizer and Moderna, after news on Wednesday that the U.K. became the first western country to approve a COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use.
U.K. vaccine approval encouraging says BC Green Leader
The leader of the BC Green Party tells NL News says she is encouraged by news that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the United Kingdom.
Speaking on the NL Morning News, Sonia Furstenau says she remains hopeful that Canada and more specifically British Columbia will follow suit soon.
“Its a hopeful news piece. Of course, I think its going to take longer than any of us would like to see that reach Canada and get that vaccine roll out here, but its a good step,” she said.
“All of us are hoping to see the solutions to this pandemic and to see the vaccinations come and rolled out safely and move back to how we used to be able to be.”
Furstenau says she is not sure what the plans are for British Columbians to get the vaccine once it is approved, noting she is looking to Health Minister Adrian Dix to keep people updated.
Federal health officials say Canadians can expect to see larger numbers of vaccine doses to arrive in the spring after more of them are approved and production has been scaled up.
