Bonnie Henry says she supports venues and businesses, if they chose to decline access and not entertain unvaccinated individuals.
“We’re in a place now, since about the end of June … where we have adequate supplies of vaccine. I hear from [unvaccinated] people that we talk to that a lot of it is around convenience, but also around a bit of complacency. Now is the time to get immunized because it’s going to have an impact on your ability to do some of those things that you may want to do,” she said. (via CityNews)
“If you choose not to be immunized, then you don’t necessarily have the right to go into a higher risk environment with a bunch of people who have been immunized and are protected. So those are decisions that we need to make personally and as a group,” she added. (via CityNews)
It is well known that crowded indoor activities highly increase the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.
This is especially timely considering the recent surge in cases seen across BC and the aggressive nature of the Delta variant. As long as people remain unvaccinated, the virus has a chance to continuously mutate and cause more havoc. Health care workers, especially those in long-term care and assisted living, are already mandated to be vaccinated.
Interior Health is hit most heavily, with about half of the 513 new cases recorded originating from there.
Dr. Henry did clarify and add that for some people it is not a choice but rather a health concern.
“We know of some people — though that’s rare — have medical reasons not to be immunized and we need to support them,” she concluded (via CityNews)