As most of us on the West Coast were bedding down for the night on Monday, COVID-19 was meeting its match inside the arm of 90-year-old Margaret Keenan, a long-term care resident in Coventry, England.
She has the honour of being the first member of the general public to receive a vaccination against the virus. Studies so far show the vaccines are both effective and safe. It is about the best early Christmas gift we could ask for. This is the beginning of the end.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the first 249,000 doses are on their way and seniors and staff in care homes will be at the front of the line. We will all rest a bit easier knowing our most vulnerable residents have a degree of protection.
We’re grateful to the scientists and the world leaders who moved mountains to make this feat possible in such a short time.
But, as badly as we all needed to hear this news, there is a much more important message in the meantime: Hold fast.
Across the world, particularly in the northern hemisphere, the pandemic is raging on and claiming lives.
It will take months for our younger, less at-risk populations to get their jabs.
It might be impossible to contain the virus while we wait for our own V-Day to arrive, but we must do our best.
As we learned this week, 18 residents of the Capilano Care Centre have died since an outbreak began there.
Every time we get lax in our efforts to stop the spread, it is the folks like Margaret Keenan who are most likely to pay the price.
We have come a long way these last 10 months, and a dose of patience should carry us the rest of the way to safety.
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