Many restaurants, in particular, say they look forward to hosting more restaurants without having to enforce public health guidelines. “The industry is happy to see it go,” said Ian Tostenson, president and CEO of the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association. “In our view, vaccination cards have served their purpose. We have worked together as an industry to encourage people to get vaccinated.” Tostenson said he believes 99 percent of restaurants will no longer check on vaccination status.
Restaurants that are tired of fighting with the patrons
Amy Lashek, owner of Dolly’s Fish Market in Prince Rupert, said removing the vaccine passport would make life easier for her staff.
“Many patrons were rude or did not accept the fact that we were checking for passes,” Lashek told CBC News.
The owner of Dolly’s Fish Market in Prince Rupert said her staff is tired of dealing with customers who are upset because they have to show vaccine cards according to BC public health orders that have now expired. (Matt Allen / CBC)
“We were hit hard by the vaccine cards and there were a lot of people who came to our restaurant often and were no longer allowed to come.”
He said he expects sales to increase as more customers return to food.
The program is no longer needed, says Dr. Henry
The vaccine card program was first introduced on September 13 and required anyone wishing to attend concerts, sporting events, movies, restaurants, gyms and other indoor venues to prove that they had received first one and then two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
At that time, the province was working to reduce the burden on hospitals, as mostly unvaccinated people filled the emergency room.
Vaccination levels are now high enough that the cards are no longer needed in terms of public health, said County Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
10:38 Dr. Bonnie Henry for the abolition of the vaccine card system
BC will abolish the mandatory vaccine card system this Friday. There will also be a fourth round of vaccine doses for elderly and immunocompromised British Colombians. For more on this, we reached out to the provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. 10:38
“We have a very strong level of vaccine protection in all of our communities, so it’s really sunset time,” she said in an interview with CBC’s The Early Edition.
“We do not see pioneering hospitalization in people who have this third dose of the vaccine, especially in people under 60 years of age.”
Just over half of eligible British Colombians have received three doses of vaccine, according to provincial figures.
According to figures released by the province, unvaccinated people continue to be responsible for the largest share of deaths, intensive care patients and COVID-19-related illnesses.
The province continues to encourage people to get vaccinated and has begun distributing fourth doses to vulnerable populations, including those over 70 years of age.
Proof of vaccination will still be required in federally regulated areas, such as airplanes, and in long-term care and assisted living facilities.
Asked if he could envision a scenario where public health measures, such as cover orders or a vaccine card, could return, Henry said “not in the short term”.
“The only thing I could see was if we had the emergence of a new strain of this virus that was able to avoid our vaccines and cause serious or very serious illness in many people.”
Joanna Unger, who is immunosuppressed, says the vaccine card program has made her feel safe enough to enjoy eating out. (Baneet Braich / CBC News)
Vulnerable people uncertain
However, some vulnerable people and experts are unsure whether lifting the measures is a good idea.
Immunocompromised people like Joanna Unger said having the extra layer of protection was a relief and allowed her to enjoy eating out and going to the movies again.
Now, he says, he feels less safe going to public places.
“I’ll probably retire from things I do, do more things outside and maybe go to restaurants less,” he said.
Crossroads Brewing and Distilling in Prince George is owned by Dr. Daryl Leiski, who says he would like to continue the COVID-19 passport vaccination program by the end of April. (Andrew Kurjata / CBC News)
Daryl Leiski, a doctor and owner of Crossroads Brewing and Distilling in Prince George, said he would like to continue using the vaccine passport program until at least the end of April.
“I think there will be a small increase in unvaccinated people who are infected with the virus,” Leiski said. “I think it is important to keep our guests safe and to come to a place knowing that everyone is vaccinated in that place.”
He said he would make a decision on whether to continue implementing the mandate after discussing it with his staff.
“I may lose some guests, but I think for the community, I have to put on my other hat.”
“We make the same mistakes”
Dr Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician, said the end of the vaccine card and coverage requirement sends the wrong message as Omicron’s highly contagious BA.2 subtype spreads rapidly. “We believe there will be another BA.2 wave and we do not think it will be different from what other jurisdictions, such as Ontario and Quebec, see, because we are making the same mistakes,” Filiatrault said. who talks about Protect Our Province BC, a group of health professionals, scientists and advocates calling for evidence-based policies. Filiatrault said it was concerned about an increase in similar hospitalizations in the UK, where, it said, restrictions were lifted very quickly and people were re-infected with COVID-19. Fifty-nine percent of British Colombians aged 18 and over have received a third dose of the vaccine, which Filiatrault said is not high enough as BA.2 spreads.
