Former B.C. anti-vaxxer says COVID-19 pandemic changed her mind about refusing immunizations

British Columbia health officials are pleading with unvaccinated residents to get immunized against COVID-19 as hospital beds fill up with people who have not, and now, a B.C. resident who was against vaccination for years issharing her story in an effort to get more shots in arms.

Maureen Orman, 69, is a Vancouver mother of three adult children whomshe refused to vaccinate in the 1980s. Convinced that a holistic way of life offered more protection than being "polluted with vaccines,"it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic struck that she says she started to rethink her position.

When people started asking her if she was planning to get a shot to protect herself against the novel coronavirus, Ormanwas unsure so she started to do her research.

Unlike in the 80s, the internetand podcasts now provided a wealth of information and Orman was careful to focus on what medical experts were saying, as opposed to just anybody with a platform and a position.

"I started to change my mind ... and to see that what I had believed was actually based on false information and misleading information," she said, speaking to CBC's The Early Edition Thursday.

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There is growing concern about a fourth wave of COVID-19 as cases start to climb again across much of Canada, with the increase being overwhelmingly driven by unvaccinated people in western provinces.

Orman said looking back now, she is appalled she chose not to vaccinate her three daughters when they were young. She said they all have, or are planning to get, the COVID-19 vaccine.

"If I had it to do over again, I would vaccinate them," she saidabout her past choices concerning childhood vaccinations. Her daughters eventually decided on their own accord when they were older to getthe shots they had missed as young kids.

In hindsight, Orman says she may have been persuaded by her family doctor at the time to give her girlsthose shots if he had pushed the issue harder.

"I really trusted this doctor andif he had, you know, tried to talk to me more about it, maybe I would have been swayed," she said.

Queenie Choo is the CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., asocial services organization helping new immigrants and a registered nurse who has been vaccinating people in the Lower Mainland for six months.

Shesaid she has heard many stories on the front lines from people who were hesitant to vaccinate and changed their minds like Orman did.

Choosaid what can really help people pivot their vaccine perspectives is hearing from a patientand well-informed health professional.

"It's important to explain everything to the individual and be able to be there to listen to their concerns," said Choo. "Knowledge is a powerful thing."

B.C. health officials have stressed the need to increase vaccination rates across the province as the fourth wave of the pandemic takes hold.

In the last five weeks, the province has seen a 1,000 per cent increase in cases and, on Wednesday, announced 536 new cases, the highest numbers in nearly three months.

On Wednesday, B.C.announced 536new cases of COVID-19 and onemore death, the highest number of new cases in nearly three months with the increase being overwhelmingly driven by unvaccinated people.

"Given what we have gone through together in this pandemic ... it is our expectation that people will be vaccinated," said Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry during a news conference Thursday.

Over 80 per cent of British Columbians have already received at least one dose of vaccine, but the province is still hoping to improve those numbers.

Henry has indicated that people who do not get vaccinated could also be subject to future restrictions that those who did won't face.

British Columbians aged 12 and over who have not yet been immunized can register in three ways:

• Online through theGet Vaccinated portal.
• By calling 1-833-838-2323. Translators are available in 140 languages.
• In person at anyService B.C. location.

People can also be immunized atwalk-in clinics throughout the province.