By Don McCormick

It is incredibly confusing listening to news interviews right now. The ‘advice’ from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is the latest example of conflicting messaging that leaves us wondering who or what to believe.

I sense a fear of commitment to a direction from these people, a fear that a rare adverse incident will come back on them personally. Our Provincial Health folks remain very clear – take the first available vaccine as early as you can get it.

We are experiencing clinical trials on the fly. Required clinical trials before release of a drug traditionally take years. It is only after all data is collected and analyzed and understood that a drug is deemed ‘safe’ and approved for general use by health authorities.

Take any prescription drug in your medicine cabinet. The instruction sheet the pharmacist puts in the bag for your review includes a list of all side effects. Read that list. Most include scary ‘rare’ occurrences. Virtually every drug has them. We do not even think about it; we rarely read them; we don’t even listen closely when the pharmacist points them out. Rare instances of death are not reported in any media.

The media focuses on the emerging side effects and fear of consequences is blinding many to the fact that the risks of COVID-19 consequences during and after illness are orders of magnitude greater than the potential of experiencing a rare side effect.

The health authorities are now telling us that there are many openings for vaccination registration. Please register now. Get in the queue.

People aged 30 and over may now choose to receive an AstraZeneca vaccine from pharmacies, including six pharmacies in Cranbrook. We are reminded to only schedule one appointment, either using the provincial system or with a participating pharmacy directly. Anecdotally, I have heard of a pharmacy registration in Cranbrook confirmed for the next day.

Please remember to follow the basic protocols. Although the active case count in Kimberley has fluctuated more recently, our community continues to show one of the most positive results among communities is all of B.C. The latest maps released indicate seven reported new cases up to April 24 (pictured above and below). The past week should be available in a day or so.

We know that vaccines are not 100% effective, so thanks to everyone for tightening up activities and following the basic protocols – they work!

Maps courtesy BCCDC

This piece was originally published on Facebook

– Don McCormick is Mayor of the City of Kimberley

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