@ Helal Chowdhury
With over 80 per cent of eligible British Columbians having received their first dose and over 60 per cent fully vaccinated, the light at the end of the tunnel looks brighter than ever. However, the situation is very different for families and communities in low-income countries, where about 1 per cent of vaccines have been administered.
Today, David Morley, President and CEO of UNICEF Canada, the Honourable Dr. Hedy Fry, Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, the Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia, gather at the Vancouver Convention Centre to ask Canadians to #GiveAVax to help end the pandemic for everyone, everywhere.
Canada’s vaccination efforts have hit many key milestones. Last week, the federal government announced that they have secured enough COVID-19 vaccines to fully vaccinate all eligible Canadians. However, as the virus circulates globally, the likelihood of mutations increases, resulting in variants of concerns that threaten to prolong the pandemic for all.
More than 8 out of 10 Canadians agree that vaccinating people in developing countries is just as important as vaccinating people in countries like Canada.
The #GiveAVax campaign provides a unique opportunity for Canadians to help UNICEF deliver life-saving vaccines to health workers and high-risk groups in lower-income countries. Over the summer, the Government of Canada will match donations dollar for dollar up to $10 million to UNICEF Canada, meaning that donations will go twice as far to save lives. Canadians have raised $4.5 million so far.
As the global leader in vaccine delivery, UNICEF has been tasked by the COVAX Facility with delivering 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines to countries around the globe before the end of the year. Every donation to the #GiveAVax campaign helps UNICEF get closer to its goal.
Canadians who are vaccinated can pay it forward and donate to UNICEF’s efforts by visiting unicef.ca or by texting “VACCINES” to 45678 to donate $10.
