B.C. vaccine passport concerns for homeless rise as card launch nears

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Anxiety is building for a man living on Vancouver’s streets about what the COVID-19 vaccine card system will mean for the homeless.

B.C.’s proof of vaccination system is set to be introduced on Sept. 13. It will limit which non-essential services, businesses, and events unvaccinated people will be able to go to.

However, while many of these activities and places, such as restaurants, may seem non-essential to many, it’s a very different situation for those without shelter.

“When the weather is bad, when it’s cold, when it’s wet, when it’s basically Vancouver in the fall and winter, a restaurant — such as a fast food restaurant — these are almost life-saving services. They largely fill a gap that is left by government social services,” Stanley Woodvine, who has been homeless for more than a decade, told NEWS 1130.

As we approach fall and the wetter weather that comes with it, Woodvine has concerns about the plan.

“The basic concern is that very many homeless people do not have sufficient identification. They specifically do not have photo ID, and if you do not have photo ID, as I understand, you will not be able to authenticate the proof of vaccination card,” he explained.

People without photo ID like Stanley Woodvine (@sqwabb), who is homeless, will be excluded from many "non-essential" activities under BC's vaccine card system. Listen @NEWS1130 as we hear his concerns, especially as wetter fall weather approaches. Photo credit: Francis Mathers pic.twitter.com/zzEz87bBek

— Martin MacMahon (@martinmacmahon) August 27, 2021

He worries that means people like him, without photo ID, will be excluded from a number places — places that are often sought as refuge from the weather — such as fast food restaurants and coffee shops.

“And it’s going to at least go into the beginning of winter. If it continues through the winter, then it actually becomes a health hazard, in the sense that homeless people will not be able to get respite out of the rain by sitting in a restaurant and drinking a coffee on a torrential day,” Woodvine explained.

“You simply will not be allowed to get out of the rain,” he continued. “This is just potentially terrible.”

While the province has provided a list of settings that will require proof of vaccination, there are still some questions about how exactly the rules will be enforced. Many businesses have already pushed back on the plan, saying they will not ask patrons to divulge their vaccination status.

B.C.’s vaccine card is being brought in in two stages. As of Sept. 13, people will need at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to be able to access a number of services and businesses. By Oct. 24, only fully immunized people will be able to attend non-discretionary settings.

The system is supposed to be in place until at least the end of January 2021. However, B.C.’s top doctor says things will be reviewed on a monthly basis.

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Woodvine says the upcoming plans and their potential consequences for those without shelter are all too familiar.

“It mirrors what happened in 2020 when the lockdown hit in Vancouver and suddenly these, essentially, restrictions, which are meant to protect people from COVID-19, had an enormously detrimental impact on homeless people who suddenly lost all access to public washrooms in city facilities and restaurants. It’s actually quite traumatizing for a lot of homeless people,” he explained to NEWS 1130.

A year and a half since the pandemic began and Woodvine says many people have “built up a level of stress about this.”

“They’re much more on edge, much more brittle. This could just be the last straw, and I really worry that the B.C. government isn’t thinking this through,” Woodvine added.

The province has yet to provide full details on how exactly people will be able to access these vaccine cards. However, it has said “a secure weblink will be provided and publicized before Sept. 13, where people will be able to confidentially access their proof of vaccination.

“Individuals will be able to save a copy of their proof of vaccination to their phone to show it when entering or using designated businesses and events,” the province added, noting people who cannot access their proof of vaccination online will be given another secure alternative.

Health officials have said a call-in centre would also be made available for people who can’t access their records online.

The province has also said it has consulted with health officials in other jurisdictions, including Quebec, which was the first province to announce it was bringing in a passport of its own.

NEWS 1130 has brought Woodvine’s concerns to the province and it says it is looking into this for us.

-With files from Claire Fenton