British Columbia breaking day-one vaccination records is a win

Good news, especially on a larger scale, is not always easy to find these days. However, it is not an entirely extinct idea. 

For example, this fall, British Columbia broke day-one vaccination records with almost 82,000 shots administered — about 50,000 for the flu and around 32,000 for COVID-19. The most recent data available shows that as of July 12, just over 81 per cent of eligible Canadians have been vaccinated for COVID-19 with at least one dose.

COVID-19 claimed the lives of 2,383 British Columbians in 2022 alone. Data from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows that from Oct. 8 to Dec. 9, 2024, weekly reported COVID-19 hospital admissions have ranged between about 16 to 40 per one-million people. 

These diseases have caused, and still do, harm to many Canadians and British Columbians, which is why the news that so many people, including myself, have taken the time to get inoculated just before the holiday season is so meaningful. 

It suggests that, despite the mis- and disinformation peddled by anti-vaxxers and the poorly informed, there are still plenty of people who recognize that protection against communicable diseases is a vital necessity for public health. 

Of course, there is still a great deal that has to be done to ensure that anti-vaccine lies are properly combatted against, especially because measles cases have been on the rise since the declared end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency. Evidently, the claws of anti-vaccine ideas have dug themselves deep into public consciousness.

Regardless of this grim detail, protecting oneself, loved ones, and community begins with the small step of getting, and staying up to date on, your shots. This is likely advice you have heard many times over in the past few years, but it really does bear repeating just how effective vaccination is. 

For COVID-19, vaccination helps against about 50 to 60 per cent of symptomatic disease and 60 to 70 per cent against hospitalization, according to the Government of Canada. For the flu, vaccines are about 50 per cent effective in preventing the sickness in healthy adults, according to the City of Toronto.

Like any medicine, side effects are possible, but by no means common enough to warrant widespread concern. According to the Government of Canada, 11,702 of the 58,712 individual reports of vaccine-related side effects were considered serious, as of January 2024.

As for natural immunity, acquiring it often means having to get sick first which is a massive risk, especially if somebody is immunocompromised or has other health issues that makes them susceptible to illness. 

Even if you are perfectly healthy, would you honestly gamble on this? Would you really disrupt your own life, and risk the lives of those closest to you, by getting an infectious illness just so your immune system can induce a fever to fight it off? 

Some people will answer “yes” because they have the Lord Farquaad mentality of “Some of you may die, but it’s a sacrifice I am willing to make.” Do not be a Farquaad. Keep your families and communities safe and healthy this holiday season.

Do your part and visit the B.C. government’s website to book flu and COVID-19 immunizations.