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Editorial: Let's get through this vaccine rollout together, one dose at a time

When the pandemic was declared a year ago, we rallied, made sacrifices and supported each other because we knew we’re all in this together.
West Van vaccine clinic
Shelagh Derbyshire receives a dose of the Pfizer vaccine from her daughter Karen Dunn, a public health nurse, last month at the West Vancouver Community Centre clinic.

Facing the prospect of thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccine expiring, the province took many of us by surprise last week, announcing they’d be available to folks aged 55 to 65 on first-come, first-served basis at some pharmacies.

Unsurprisingly, it triggered a run on very limited supply, and accusations of queue jumping and unfairness. The communications from the province were handled badly but we understand time was of the essence.

If we are letting doses go to waste because we insist on a flawless rollout that’s unanimously regarded as fair by all, then we deserve to be in this pandemic even longer.

And if you’re the type to begrudge others for getting vaccinated ahead of you, allow us to remind you of the nature of a global pandemic. The goal is to reach herd immunity as quickly as possible. It’s a numbers game with a tipping point and every dose along the way, regardless of who receives it, gets us closer.

For the happy few who have already received their first dose, nothing changes significantly. You still wear a mask, line up, and stay home whenever possible.

Finger pointing, in any event, is not a good use of our precious mental, physical and emotional fortitude at a time when we really should be focusing on beating back the third and most virulent wave of COVID-19.

The province announced Tuesday that anyone over the age of 18 in B.C. may now register at getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca to be contacted when it’s their turn to book an appointment. We want everyone to sign up.

When the pandemic was declared a year ago, we rallied, made sacrifices and supported each other because we knew we’re all in this together. That hasn’t changed. Let’s act like it.

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