Dear members of the UBC community. As you know, the vaccination drive against COVID-19 is well underway here in BC, across Canada and around the world.
Both the federal and provincial governments have committed to widespread vaccine availability. BC is now in Phase 3 of the vaccine roll-out plan. Anyone, 18 or over, who wishes to be vaccinated against COVID-19 should have the opportunity to receive their first immunization by July of this year.
I encourage everyone to register to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as you are eligible. Getting the COVID-19 vaccine adds one more layer of protection for you, your household, and your community.
I am pleased to announce that last month, UBC entered into an agreement with Vancouver Coastal Health to host a vaccination site on our Vancouver campus. Located in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Building, the site is now in operation administering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible members of the public, based on the phases of B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan.
The clinic in the PharmSci building will run from March through to August 2021. It is important to stress that Vancouver Coastal Health is managing all bookings as per their existing protocols. Discussions are also underway regarding the potential for a clinic at UBCO.
For more information on COVID immunization eligibility and how to book an appointment at the Vancouver campus clinic, please visit vch.ca/covid-19. For more information on BC’s immunization program visit immunizebc.ca.
Over the coming weeks, we will be providing more details on our plans for the Fall semester. In the meantime, I urge everyone to continue to follow public health and university guidelines. COVID-19 is still very much a part of our lives, and we all need to do what we can to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe.
This week’s unsung hero is Dr. Hélène Frohard Dourlent who is a Strategist on the Human Rights team in the Equity & Inclusion Office. Hélène is a key contributor to the work that UBC is doing to advance inclusion. They are supporting the work of the Trans, Two-Spirit and Gender Diversity Taskforce. Hélène has worked to ensure the changes to Workday and the Student Information System enable faculty, staff and students to indicate their chosen names and their preferred pronouns – and working to make this part of the automatic signature generator for the email system! Hélène, thank you for all you do.
Before I go, I would like to remind everyone that next week is the final opportunity to learn about UBC’s emerging Climate Action Plan 2030 for the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, ask questions, and share perspectives.
It’s important that you share your voice to shape CAP 2030. There’s still time to take part in this process by visiting the CAP 2030 consultation webpage.
We’d like to know how you feel about barriers and opportunities for taking action to help reduce UBC’s emissions from commuting to and from campus, UBC-related air travel, food, and waste. Your insights are critical to helping us plan for emissions reductions in these key areas, especially in terms of understanding how UBC can support you to take action. The survey will close on Friday April 16 at 4PM.
This week’s #songsofcomfort selection is a performance by the musica intima vocal emsemble of “Moonset” by B.C. composer Don MacDonald, with words by Emily Pauline Johnson.
Take care and stay safe.
Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor