A planned “pop-up” vaccine clinic that would have been offered at Hollyburn Country Club next week has been cancelled by the B.C. government.
The West Vancouver country club was set to host Indigo Pharmacy on Monday, April 26 from noon to 3 p.m. to offer “a very limited quantity of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for members ages 40 to 65,” according to an April 22 email sent to members by Hollyburn CEO Ed McLaughlin.
The email stated there are long wait-lists for COVID-19 vaccines in local communities and members could book an appointment by providing their name, membership number and a preferred time slot.
Indigo Pharmacy has branches in Vancouver and New Westminster, according to its website.
B.C. residents have been told previously to book their AstraZeneca vaccine directly through local pharmacies.
In a statement to the North Shore News, the province said the pop-up clinic had been cancelled.
“This is unacceptable. We cancelled the clinic and won’t be providing any further COVID-19 vaccines to this pharmacy,” the statement read.
After being members for 25 years, West Vancouver Mayor Mary-Ann Booth announced Saturday (April 24) she and her family would be cancelling their Hollyburn memberships in response to news of the proposed pop-up clinic.
Booth said neither her or her husband had seen the email by the country club informing members of the vaccine clinic when it was sent out a few days ago. She said she was “appalled” to learn about the plan from reports in the media.
“I couldn’t believe it, actually. … It looked like people were jumping the queue and getting special treatment. I don’t believe in that,” said Booth. “I cancelled my membership at 12:20 today.”
The mayor has been quarantining at home after her husband contracted COVID-19.
“Given what I have come through with my husband and being in quarantine until tomorrow, I do encourage everybody to get registered and get vaccinated as soon as they can – and follow the proper channels and publicly approved process,” she said.
Hollyburn Country Club and Indigo Pharmacy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Earlier this week, the province started offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people 40 and over.
On Thursday, provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix said he expects the province’s supply of AstraZeneca vaccine to be depleted in the coming week.
