‘Disgusting, dangerous:’ Northern B.C. MLA slams anti-vaccine letter purporting to be from his office
Posted September 27, 2021 6:38 pm.
Last Updated October 8, 2021 6:18 am.
FORT ST. JOHN (NEWS 1130) — MLA Dan Davies is furious that someone has written an anti-vaccine pamphlet in his name, and is circulating it in a Northern B.C. community where the hospital is overwhelmed with unvaccinated COVID-19 patients and burnt-out healthcare workers.
Davies first learned about the misinformation-filled pamphlet over the weekend, when a doctor called him concerned that the return address was his constituency office.
“You can imagine, I was quite shocked and appalled when I heard about this,” he tells NEWS 1130.
“Quite frankly, it’s disgusting. I’ve been — since the start of this pandemic — supporting public health, public health orders, encouraging friends and family, my community members, my colleagues and everyone else to get vaccinated. We know that is the way out of this.”
I’ve been made aware of a statement discouraging people from being vaccinated is circulating in our community that purports to be from my office. I have no connection and neither does my office to this letter. See my full statement: #GetVaccinatedNow
https://t.co/gzwK9cjmYB— Dan Davies (@Daniel_Davies) September 27, 2021
In a statement issued Monday, Davies makes it clear that he has no connection to this letter and does not agree with its contents.
“I have been made aware a statement discouraging people from being vaccinated is circulating in our community and that it purports to be from my office,” he writes. “I have no connection and neither does my office to this letter.”
Davies represents the riding of Peace River North, and the pamphlet is particularly galling to him given vaccination rates in that region are far below the provincial average. On Sept 21, 51 per cent of people in the region were fully vaccinated, compared to the provincial rate of 80.4 per cent. When it comes to those with a single dose, the region similarly lags with 62 per cent having received one shot compared to the B.C.-wide rate of 87.5 per cent.
“I’m not sure who else they may have sent it to, but it’s really concerning,” Davies says.
“It’s really concerning how they’re undermining what we are all trying to do and that’s to get our vaccination level up. This isn’t helping.”
Recently, Northern Health sounded the alarm about the dire situation at Fort St. John Hospital. In a Facebook post, the health authority detailed a staffing crisis among nurses, and escalating tensions.
“Our staff are exhausted, overworked, and are facing brutal criticism from the public and insults on their shifts. This is unacceptable. Every day when they show up for work, they are putting the needs of the community of Fort St. John ahead of their own and those of their families at home. We implore people to be kind, patient, and respectful of these staff members and the situation they are facing,” the posts ays.
“This situation is further impacted by the current pressures related to rising COVID-19 cases, which also mean longer wait times for people coming to the ER – a situation that will likely get worse before it gets better.”
RELATED: B.C.’s unvaccinated vast majority of ICU cases in province
The hospital is also the site of an active outbreak of the virus, which has already killed one patient.
Davies describes the healthcare system as on the verge of collapse, and says the pamphlet is trying to undermine efforts to increase the number of poeple who are immunized.
“This is dangerous. There’s already vaccine hesitancy here. This is the last thing we need is for someone to be fueling this fire,” he says.
“The hospitals are full of unvaccinated people right now. We need to get these vaccines done and these kinds of antics are absolutely foolish, childish, and not on. Our health care professionals need relief, and that relief is going to be coming by having people vaccinated, not people out there spreading lies and spreading untruths about vaccines.”
