Ep. 376: British Columbia’s vaccine rollout

Guest: Dr. Penny Ballem, Exec. Lead for BC COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout

Here we are, more than 21 months into COVID-19.

21 months in which we’ve gone from isolation as the only defense against dying from COVID, to more than 90% of the population of British Columbia being vaccinated.

The psychological impact on people has been astonishing. In late spring 2020 through to the delivery of the first round of vaccinations we collectively held our breath.. Now, with the vast majority of adults in BC having received two doses there is a sense of calm that has returned to the streets, it’s like we took a collective sigh of relief. People aren’t looking at one another as if we could kill each other simply by breathing anymore.

Already, the province is delivering a third or booster shot and come the New Year, pharmacists in BC will become your go-to location to get the jab. Dr. Penny Ballem, the executive lead of the BC immunization rollout team, says, “The delivery of vaccinations in BC has been very successful.”

That may be an understatement – a very modest understatement when you consider that BC rolled out vaccinations differently. The province’s mass injection sites not only sped up delivery, but they also provided employment for many people who had lost their jobs and it provided needed revenue to venues that sat empty.

Stuart McNish invited Dr. Penny Ballem to join him for a Conversation That Matters about how we got to now and where we’re going from here.