The Surrey Board of Trade sent a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Health Minister of Canada Patty Hajdu, Premier John Horgan, and Minister of Health Adrian Dix urging them to implement a proof-of-immunization model.
“We support a centralized, Canada-wide approach to COVID-19 proof-of immunization that could be easily used to confirm vaccination status for international and domestic use,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade. “Without inter-provincial harmonization, Canada risks a piecemeal approach, making life more difficult and unpredictable for individuals and employers during an already uncertain time. Many of our businesses do business across Canada, trading goods and travelling across the country for business-related reasons.”
Implementing proof-of-immunization would both encourage more Canadians to get vaccinated and allow more businesses to safely reopen and remain open with the possibility of future outbreaks still uncertain. Public health restrictions, such as capacity limits, could then be modified accordingly based on the lower risk involved with close contact among fully vaccinated individuals. Encouraging people to get vaccinated will reduce possible impacts to mutations.
“Certainly, there are equity, security, privacy, and human right considerations, but as a short-term solution, there is a way to implement some type of proof-of-immunization strategy. The current risks stem from the unvaccinated and the potential for them to generate more variations (mutations) of the current viruses.”
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Anita Huberman, 604-634-0342, anita@businessinsurrey.com
