After about a year of waiting, the COVID-19 vaccine has finally made it to Squamish.
On Dec. 23, Jeremy Stubley, a nurse at the Whistler Blackcomb Foundation Sea to Sky Community Hospice, was among the first batch of people to receive his first shot of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine.
As a front-line healthcare worker, the Squamish resident is at the front of the line to receive the treatment not only in town, but also throughout the rest of Canada.
"It does feel good," he said. "I mean pure luck. It just so happens that the Vancouver Coastal Health is prioritizing workers working in long-term care facilities first."
The hospice is attached to Hilltop House and both facilities share staff, he said.
It's a historic moment. Never has a vaccine been developed with such speed. The previous record-holder belonged to the mumps vaccine, which took about four years.
However, with a pandemic that has caused unprecedented damage worldwise, pharmaceutical companies raced to create a vaccine in roughly a year.
For Stubley, the process of receiving the vaccine was very normal.
He went down to a COVID-19 testing centre on the North Shore, and the process was no different than getting a flu shot.
"It's just like a flu vaccine," said Stubley.
"Just a fine jab, and that was it. No pain. My arm doesn't even hurt, it feels absolutely marvellous, to be honest."
He'll be receiving the second of two required shots in the coming weeks.
The vaccine does provide some measure of relief.
Stubley said he's not considered high-risk, but as he approaches 55,聽 he's more at risk than a younger person.
In his day-to-day work, Stubley takes care of people in the later stages of their life, and his elderly mother lives with him and his wife. The vaccine will help reduce the risk to those he works with.
Stubley said that people shouldn't be worried about taking the shots.
While there have been anaphylactic reactions in a very small number of cases, treatments for these allergic reactions are always on hand at vaccination stations.
Stubley also expressed faith in the research and development that went into creating the vaccine.
"Get yourself vaccinated," he said. "There's nothing to it. There's nothing to be afraid of."
