Provincial health critic Renee Merrifield is going to continue to clang the alarm bell, loudly, until someone not only listens, but takes action.
"Of course, I'm going to sound the alarm again and again and again," said Merrifield, who is also the Liberal MLA for Kelowna-Mission.
"BC needs to distribute the COVID vaccine faster."
What's most alarming to Merrifield is that only select pharmacies throughout the province are administering the vaccine when every pharmacy and pharmacist is ready, willing and able.
"There are 1,400 pharmacies in BC and every pharmacist is willing," said Merrifield.
"Yet, we're not utilizing every pharmacy. Why not?"
The health critic blames it on the NDP government's "haphazard and subjective" methods for distributing the vaccine.
The age-based program is letting those aged 65-plus make appointments, some pharmacies are offering the first dose of AstraZeneca to 55 to 65 year olds, COVID hotspot regions are getting vaccine for everyone and some professions are getting jabs before others.
Merrifield is touting that every 24-7 pharmacy should be vaccinating people around the clock, but generally vaccine is administered during regular daytime hours.
Currently, about 40,000 a day in BC are getting a needle.
Yet, Merrifield says the rate should be 68,000 a day to meet the federal deadline of having the entire adult population vaccinated with at least one dose by the end of August.
So far, 1.684 million doses of vaccine have been delivered to the province and 1.19 administered.
"That leaves 494,000 sitting on the shelf," she said.
"We need to get those doses in people's arms because we are falling farther and farther behind every day."
Merrifield said Saskatchewan is "killing it" with its full, mass vaccination program.
Saskatchewan has administered 90% of the doses it has taken delivery of so far and is operating no-appointment-necessary, drop-in vaccination centres for those who qualify.
