Dr Charles Helm
I appreciated the opportunity to provide COVID 19 vaccinations to residents of Tumbler Ridge in the curling arena for five days from April 12 to 16. It was an enormous privilege for me to come out of the semi-retirement woodwork, and contribute in this way to the battle against the virus and the pandemic. And it was wonderful to witness first-hand the sense of relief and joy that almost everybody involved displayed, on receiving what is hopefully a step towards a return to a degree of normality in our lives. It was a good time to be remote and small, as we in Tumbler are ahead of larger communities like Dawson Creek and Fort St John that have to work their way down systematically according to age cohorts.
The contrast between a tiny, almost painless, injection and the big event that it symbolized was obvious, and it was great also to be part of such an efficient team, led by Jason, Becky and Jen, with an array of dedicated TR volunteers. It was TR community spirit at its finest, with no long line-ups for shots, as we sometimes see on TV, and instead a sense of exuberance from those being vaccinated in being able to be together at an approved venue, suitably masked and distanced from each other.
Some had been sitting on the fence for a while, and had just recently made the decision to follow the science and the evidence, and come in for their shots. Others had been waiting for the moment for months, and were ecstatic that it had finally arrived.
At the end of the week, we could look at the numbers. The estimated Tumbler Ridge population is 2,200. To arrive at the number of eligible residents, we need to subtract all those under 18 years of age. Vaccines have already been offered to the three Conuma mines, and we can estimate how many of the recipients were from local. Older residents and front-line health care workers have already been vaccinated. While the tally remains an estimate, it is clear that more than 1,000 people have already been vaccinated, which is clearly more than 50 percent of those who are eligible!
This is great, but it is not enough. We need to be striving what is known as ‘herd immunity’—the percentage of people who need to be immune to make the spread of illness from person to person unlikely. This would make the whole community protected, not just those who are immune. It seems that for Covid 19, 70 percent or higher seems to be a reasonable target.
A few critical points follow from this. Firstly, we don’t just need herd immunity for Canada and for BC, but we need to achieve herd immunity for Tumbler Ridge. Otherwise, Covid 19 will continue to plague us here.
Secondly, there are two ways for us to reach herd immunity. One way is for as many of us as possible to develop our immunity through being vaccinated. The other way is for us to get there through enough people getting sick with Covid 19, in which case a significant number of us will end up hospitalized, in the ICU, and probably some of us will die. That is the stark choice that faces us now, and I know which of these two options I do want to see happen, and which one I don’t.
Compared to many parts of the world, we have been pretty fortunate so far, and I would really like to see us stay that way. To me, it seems that anyone we lose would be a tragedy which we should do our best to prevent. Conversely, every extra person who comes in to be vaccinated represents a minor victory in the battle.
One thing that was really gratifying was to see our Mayor and a number of Councillors leading by example and coming in for their vaccinations. I have been in contact with Mayor Bertrand on and off since the beginning of the pandemic, and it was no surprise hearing him tell me the following:
“I feel very fortunate that Tumbler Ridge was selected for community wide vaccinations. I was happy to receive the vaccination on April 12 and yes, I did feel some sense of relief. I want to be able to see my family again in Alberta. Now is more important than ever to come together as a community and show our resilience and support one another in order for Tumbler Ridge to come out ahead of COVID. We have all been waiting for the vaccine to get back to our normal lives for more than a year now and HERE it is! Please take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity we have here in Tumbler Ridge for access to the vaccine. I’d like to thank Northern Health for providing that opportunity for our community!”
We know that Covid 19 presents a moving and elusive target, and it may be that in the long term we need booster shots, similar to what we do annually with the flu-shot. And yes, nothing is 100 percent risk-free. However, for anyone still sitting on the fence, please be assured that risks of the Covid 19 shot are minimal compared to the risks of contracting this horrible disease or of spreading it to someone else, and they are truly minimal compared to the risks we each take in our lives every day.
I would like to let everyone who has received their vaccinations in Tumbler Ridge know how much I appreciate their actions, not just for themselves but for their community. And I hope that many more folks follow the science, ignore the conspiracy theories, and show up for their shots in the curling arena on Tuesday April 27 and Wednesday April 28. To make a booking, one just needs to call 1-866-481-2175 (7 days a week, from 7 am to 7 pm). If people miss this golden opportunity, I don’t know when the next chance will be – it might be a good while.
I will be there, hoping to vaccinate you with your first Pfizer shot, as part of the team. For anyone over 18 who has not yet been vaccinated, please consider it now – it would be great to see you there.
