November 30, 2023 (British Columbia) – DoNoHarm BC, a grassroots group advocating for evidence-based public health measures, has launched an urgent new campaign to address the expiry of British Columbia’s COVID-19 health management funding after 2023.
The campaign, titled “Renew pandemic support in BC’s 2024 Budget”, calls on people across the province to email their MLAs about the loss of this funding, which has supported vaccination; testing; protective equipment for healthcare workers; economic recovery programs; and supports for vulnerable British Columbians.
DoNoHarm BC’s campaign makes six key recommendations for the next provincial budget:
1. Renew a three year-plan for economic recovery, sustainable health management of communicable diseases, and resilience against future pandemics;
2. Establish a Clean Indoor Air Act to harness the cost-effective public health benefits of clean air (which has a benefit-cost ratio from 3:1 to 100:1);
3. Support a comprehensive building retrofit strategy that includes cooling and indoor air quality improvements in the BC Building Code;
4. Provide a PPE tax credit of $5 million/year offsetting costs for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities (bolstered by expanding medical equipment coverage, and raising rates of income and disability assistance indexed to inflation);
5. Include Long COVID care in support for complex chronic illnesses;
6. Invest in improved digital health solutions including better usability and interoperability between health authorities.
In their recommendations, DoNoHarm BC emphasized the urgency of the campaign: “Fluctuating COVID levels, new variants, fall/winter disease surges and hospital outbreaks underscore the need for ongoing health management… these risks would be magnified by unchecked illness spread, which drives the evolution of variants that evade current treatments.” DoNoHarm BC also notes that companies continue to face record-high work absences from illness, while loss of COVID relief funding puts half of affected charities at moderate-to-high risk of closure.
Individuals, community leaders and organizations are invited to participate in the campaign at donoharmbc.ca/budget2024-campaign until December 15, 2023, and to spread awareness by sharing widely on social media.
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About DoNoHarm BC
DoNoHarm BC is a non-partisan action group based in British Columbia, Canada. Their mission is to demand evidence-based safety measures in high-risk settings; to advocate for effective and equitable public health policies; and to help lead grassroots collective action promoting safety, equity, accessibility, and resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. DoNoHarmBC.ca
Media kit
Media inquiries: DoNoHarmBC@gmail.com
- our full budget recommendations
- backgrounder slides on the B.C. budget
- photos and alt text
- first-person stories and quotes from British Columbians regarding the importance of COVID-19 health management in BC
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