B.C.’s top doctor is apologizing for the confusion and miscommunication over the rollout of a series of pop-up vaccination clinics across the Lower Mainland this week that left many hopeful COVID-19 recipients without a jab after waiting in line for hours.
The province deployed a series of clinics offering the AstraZeneca plc vaccine to anyone 30 years and older across 13 hotspots in the Fraser Health region.
But significant confusion erupted, with many locals sifting through social media for the heads-up on the location of clinics.
Many travelled outside their own communities to receive vaccines not meant for them, but for those living in COVID-19 hotspots. Others faced long lineups at the pop-up clinics, only to be told hours later there.
“There were some operational things that were done or not done that caused a lot of frustration and I can see that, and I absolutely apologize to people for the miscommunications and for the confusion,” B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said during a briefing.
“We are concerned the way these rolled out. These were done with the right intentions.”
She urged people not to travel to other communities dealing with the hotspots if they did not live there.
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