As the Victoria Day long weekend heralds the unofficial start of summer, and vaccination rates ramp up around the province, the thoughts of many are turning to what a post-vaccination COVID world might look like in B.C.
Health officials have made it clear no big changes are coming soon. It’ll be more of a gradual brightening than the flicking of a switch, warned Dr. Bonnie Henry. The numbers of people in hospital are still too high right now.
It’s natural to wonder when and how life as we used to know it could start to return. Having our lives back is one of the key reasons – besides personal protection and wanting to protect those close to us – to get vaccinated.
We’ll soon reach a point where those who are eager to be vaccinated will have had a chance to get their shots. But reaching herd immunity will require us to go further, and convince those who have been hesitant to roll up their sleeves.
A soft sell from peers is definitely one way to help and one we can all take part in. South of the border we’ve seen some jurisdictions trying to woo people into getting jabbed with everything from lottery tickets to doughnuts.
We’ve also seen the marked changes in regulations and relaxing of restrictions in areas where vaccinations have reached critical points.
At some point, it behooves government to offer a carrot. Similarly, there may be a way to craft policies that exclude those who refuse to do their part from participating in the more enjoyable parts of the recovery.
As we’ve said since the beginning, we’re all in this together, right until the end.
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