The B.C. government’s plan to introduce vaccine certificates on Sept. 13 is a good one. It will help to keep both customers and employees safe from COVID-19. It will help keep businesses open. It has already accelerated the number of people getting vaccines.
Recently, protestors targeted hospitals screaming obscenities and “Lock Her Up” referring to [B.C.’s top health officer] Dr. Bonnie Henry. Their actions disrespected frontline healthcare workers and brought some to tears, including some that were in intensive care treating unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.
One Kelowna surgeon said his operating room, for the third week in a row, is running at less than 60-per-cent capacity due to an overwhelming number of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients.
They are a small, angry minority protesting vaccine passports claiming they discriminate and threaten their privacy.
Well, it does discriminate against those who refuse to get vaccinated, those unvaccinated who become a burden on our public healthcare system when they do get COVID-19, and those unvaccinated who have closed down the possibility of beating COVID-19 through herd immunity.
The refusal to get vaccinated endangers those that cannot be inoculated—including everyone under the age of 12.
As for privacy concerns, many of these same people post almost everything they do on Facebook and Instagram. Is a certificate that says, “I’m fully vaccinated” threatening their privacy? After all, we’re in the middle of a pandemic!
The large majority of British Columbians that are fully vaccinated need to make their voices heard.
Perhaps the best plan for Whistler going forward is for our municipal government, the Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Whistler, and all of our businesses, led by Whistler Blackcomb, to openly embrace the B.C. government’s vaccine-certificate program.
Put up posters in your doorways supporting the B.C. vaccination-certificate program. Let the world know that we are a safe place to visit and live. All international travellers will be required to be fully vaccinated. They will feel more confident choosing Whistler if they know that locals and Canadian visitors are also required to be fully vaccinated. Everyone will feel a lot safer in those long, valley-floor lift lines, having lunch on the mountain, and apres ski if they know that their neighbours and staff are also fully vaccinated.
If we fully buy into this program very few individual businesses will be harassed by angry anti-mask, anti-vax, anti-vaccine-certificate individuals because they will know before arriving in Whistler where we clearly stand as a community.
If we openly embrace this program perhaps we will have a safer, more prosperous, and happier winter.
John Konig // Whistler
