BC keeping first COVID-19 vaccination sites secret over security concerns
Health officials are not revealing the locations where the first doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be stored and administered over fears of criminal tampering.
Dr. Bonnie Henry said at a news conference Thursday that the secrecy surrounding BC’s first two COVID-19 vaccine sites is because they’ve received information that certain individuals could be making a “concerted effort” to sabotage vaccine rollout.
“We need to make sure it is safe and make sure that it’s not tampered with,” she said.
BC RCMP senior media relations officer Sgt. Janelle Shoihet confirmed in an email to Daily Hive that provincial police are working closely with BC’s Ministry of Health to plan vaccine delivery across the province.
“For operational reasons we cannot provide more specific details with respect to the roles we have, and will continue to play,” she said.
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About 4,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine are being delivered to two sites in the Lower Mainland next week, and the first people to receive it will be healthcare workers tending ICUs, COVID-19 wards, and long-term care homes.
Pfizer’s product needs to be kept at ultra-low temperatures of about -70°C, so it’s important to make sure its cold-storage isn’t interrupted, Henry said.
One site will be in Vancouver Coastal Health and the other will be in Fraser Health. Although she hasn’t revealed where the vaccine delivery sites are, she did say they will be inside hospitals or other healthcare facilities with the necessary deep-freeze facilities.