Prince Edward Island — On Thursday, it was announced that the Charlottetown-based BioVectra has partnered with the federal government to manufacture mRNA vaccines to combat the global pandemic. Meanwhile, on social media, New Brunswick is working overtime to produce more anti-vaxxers.
“We’re just trying to keep apace with market demands,” said Fredericton anti-vaxx advocate Gloria Pardon, who heads an online initiative to promote vaccine hesitancy.
Why is it that the cause is so important to her?
“I think there are still a lot of questions about the vaccine. Sure, there are a lot of answers, too, but I don’t know why it’s my responsibility to listen to them,” said Pardon. “Take its potential effect on biology. I’m 64 years old. I don’t have that many fertile years left — I can’t afford to take any chances.”
According to Pardon, the goal of recruiting more anti-vaxxers in the province actually mirrors P.E.I.’s professional effort to create vaccines.
“It’s basic economics,” she said. “P.E.I. is boosting the Atlantic Canadian economy by producing these vaccines as part of a global effort to end COVID. However, without us anti-vaxxers, the virus would likely have been eradicated in Canada months ago, eliminating the need to make the vaccines in the first place.”
So, in Pardon’s view, is the role of anti-vaxxers even more significant than that of BioVectra?
“Oh, without a doubt,” she said. “And trust me, I know a thing or two about doubt.”