When it comes to the rollout of the province’s vaccination program, the government is kind of between a rock and a hard place.
No matter what they do, they face criticism.
And rightfully so, government should always be held accountable.
Nevertheless, we believe some kudos are also in order. Despite kind of a sluggish start to the program, they have been steadily ramping it up and it now appears all of us who want the vaccine will get it ahead of the original schedule.
Most recently, they have accelerated the age-based eligibility and also opened it up to some essential workers, a can of worms it seems that has some others asking why them and not us?
While all of us who are on that essential workers list would like to think we are created equal, there has to be prioritization based on risk and logistics.
Just as phase 1 identified the most vulnerable cohort as being residents of long-term care facilities and the health care workers who take care of them, the essential workers in this phase are identified as the ones most susceptible to transmission.
This is based on B.C. Centre for Disease Control data and we should be grateful the health authorities are doing this in a methodical way.
Meanwhile, there has also been an outcry regarding community-based prioritization. Recently, everyone in the Prince Rupert Local Health Area became eligible for mass immunization because the area had become a hotbed of the disease.
That raised the issue for some that the community was being rewarded for bad behaviour.
Even if that were true, for which there is little to no evidence, it would actually be the bad behaviour of a few, not the entire community. Not making the vaccine available to everyone in that risky situation, would be akin to punishing the majority for the actions of the few.
Furthermore, addressing hot spots benefits everybody as it can curb spread to other areas.
We should remember protection goes both ways.
Everybody is anxious for a return to normalcy, but once again, we urge patience. As of right now, B.C. is on the right track.
We will all get our turn.
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