ROTHENBURGER: The case for vaccine passports has never been stronger

Sure, it’s part of Step 3 and masks are only part of the issue but I’m just making a point, which is that we need domestic COVID vaccine passports to get things on the right track.

As of Friday, 74 per cent of British Columbians had received at least one dose of vaccine, and 65 per cent were fully vaccinated. Those numbers will creep upward as all the stops are pulled in enticing people to the vaccination clinics but roughly 10 per cent remain either certain they’ll never get it, or are putting it off because they don’t like needles, are unsure of vaccine safety or just don’t see any urgency.

For those who have a medical or religious reason for not getting the jab or wearing masks when recommended, or are very young, I say yes, there must be exceptions. For those with philosophical objections, I say, get over it.

Those who think the vaccinations — and the entire pandemic, for that matter — are some sort of conspiracy will never be convinced to get one. On the upside, that should leave 95 per cent of the population capable of reason or, at least, persuasion.

Telling the recalcitrants they should get the jab for their own good or the good of others won’t get the job done. Inconvenience will.

If you aren’t allowed to go drinking or to the game with your buddies because they’ve gotten the double dose and you haven’t, you’ll very likely change your mind pretty quickly and head to the COVID clinic at the next opportunity.

I have a card in my wallet that says I’m fully vaccinated but it’s not of any practical use. B.C. has an app for showing proof of COVID vaccinations but only 745,000 residents have it so far.

The experts are united on one thing — this has become a pandemic of the unvaccinated. They’re driving us into the fourth wave. Making it harder for the unvaccinated to enjoy the pleasures of the re-opening, and making it easier for the vaccinated, will help get us to where we need to be.

At Thompson Rivers University, neither vaccinations nor masks will be required on campus. It’s a “personal choice,” says the university, and it’s the same at other universities in the province.

Of course, it’s Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix who allow it to be a personal choice.

As for public schools, we await an update on a back-to-school plan that’s now outdated with the rise of the variant. Vaccinations for teachers, by the way, remain voluntary. They have rights, you know.

There’s some positive tinkering around the edges. Staff and volunteers at long-term care and assisted living facilities must now be vaccinated. But they won’t lose their positions if they refuse; they’ll simply have to take extra precautions.

Dr. Henry says requiring vaccinations for staff might be a good idea for businesses but basically they can do what they want. Wouldn’t you feel safer in a big box store, gym, bar, movie theatre, college classroom, restaurant, church, or concert hall if you knew everyone there — including those who work there — was double vaccinated?

Some music events are considering requiring patrons to show their vaccination cards, but the BC Lions won’t and the Canucks are only thinking about it.

Across the country, Quebec is preparing to introduce a vaccine passport (Manitoba has already done it) and the feds will use one for international travel. Vaccinations will also be required for federal employees and those working in federally regulated industries such as planes, trains, boats, and banks and — guess what — there are cries of “our freedoms are being taken away.”

In Alberta, the unfortunate Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who has the worst job in Canada right now, once again falls on her sword for the Jason Kenney government and backs off on plans for a complete removal of COVID restrictions. However, that province is on record as opposing vaccine passports, as is Ontario.

B.C. continues to be vague, with Dix saying this province will co-operate with the federal vaccine passport plan but not saying B.C. will issue one. And, of course, there’s the question of whether the federal passport can be used for domestic purposes such as the ones I’ve mentioned.

Pre-variant, one could argue against the need for vaccine passports. Not now. We all have rights, but those rights are secondary to the rights of the whole. Our laws are all about controlling behaviour that infringes on the wellbeing of others.

Keep your right not to vaccinate. Or get the jab and join the crowd.

POST SCRIPTS: The case of the banned tree I reported on a couple of weeks ago has been resolved. The strata council at Braeview Place has decided Don Stocks — husband of the late City councillor Nora Stocks — can have a tree in front of his unit after all. Lyons Landscaping sourced a Saskatoon and the council reversed course and said it’s OK to plant it, but stipulates it won’t be considered a memorial tree…. I strongly recommend the documentary A Valley Destroyed, the Story of Monte Lake and Paxton Valley for a behind-the-scenes look at the efforts of residents who refused to evacuate, fighting the wildfire instead. It’s on YouTube.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: The case for vaccine passports has never been stronger

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