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Sea to Sky health officer tries to quell concerns over WB’s gondola policy

Dr. John Harding says data shows no significant risk of COVID-19 transmission in similar enclosed settings
N-Gondola Vaccines 28.46 STOCKSTUDIOX GETTY IMAGES
Sea to Sky medical health officer Dr. John Henry says health authorities approved Whistler Blackcomb’s safety plan this winter because there is no data to show gondolas are a major COVID-19 transmission risk.

The Sea to Sky’s medical health officer was in Whistler this week to express his confidence in Whistler Blackcomb’s (WB) COVID-19 safety plan ahead of opening day after thousands of community members have voiced their concerns over the ski resort not requiring proof of vaccine to ride in gondolas. 

“If there was concern of transmission on the hill based on any aspect of the COVID-19 safety plan, we would have made those recommendations to Whistler Blackcomb to make changes,” said Vancouver Coastal Health’s Dr. John Harding during Tuesday’s regular meeting of council.  

Harding’s Nov. 16 presentation came after a lengthy Q&A period during which the lion’s share of public comments were critical of WB’s approach

“I’m here tonight because I don’t believe that catching COVID-19 should be viewed as a normal risk to participate in winter sports,” said local skier and 70-year-old cancer survivor Nick Green. 

Time and again, Harding reiterated that, with more than a year and a half of contact tracing under their belts, health officials haven’t seen the data bear out a significant risk of transmission in enclosed spaces like gondolas. He pointed to similar settings, such as public transit, private vehicles and rideshares that, even prior to B.C’s vaccination push, “were not seeing transmissions in any appreciable amounts” when face coverings were worn.    

For Whistlerite John Konig, the author of an online petition calling for WB to institute vaccine requirements for skiers and riders on gondolas that has garnered more than 11,000 signatures, comparing this winter to last is misguided. 

“[Harding] says we didn’t see on-mountain transmission last year, but this year all the circumstances are different. We were loading in our bubble or solo, we had to wear masks in lineups,” he says. 

Based on provincial guidance, WB will require guests to show proof of vaccine in on-mountain restaurants this winter, but on the gondola front, the Vail Resorts-owned company has largely gone against the grain. Ski resorts such as Grouse Mountain, Revelstoke and Resorts of the Canadian Rockies have announced they will voluntarily implement vaccine mandates for guests.

Asked if there is worry that WB could become a preferred destination for unvaccinated skiers this winter, Harding again pointed to both B.C. and Whistler’s high vaccination rates (more than 91 per cent of locals aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated), as well as the vaccination requirements for travellers flying on both international and domestic flights. 

“It will be difficult to get to Whistler and not be vaccinated,” he said, not mentioning skiers and riders arriving by land. 

In response to a question about why proof of vaccine is required in other non-essential venues such as restaurants and bars, Harding explained the vaccine card was “intended not necessarily to correlate directly with areas of high risk but instead to encourage people to go ahead with vaccination. That’s why I think it is important to keep in mind the nuance that we didn’t see high transmission in our gyms, in our restaurants, and we certainly didn’t see high transmission associated with outdoor recreational activities either.” 

Given that fact, Harding was asked if he thought a vaccine requirement on Whistler Blackcomb’s gondolas would encourage further vaccine uptake. 

“My main concern is disease transmission and the prevention of it, however, I would say that it’s important that all measures and interventions remain proportional to the risk posed,” he said. 

“In a highly vaccinated population such as ours, there is diminishing returns to putting in mandates, in that you will also galvanize a certain small proportion of the population that was already vaccine-hesitant into being vaccine-resistant.”  

It was not the only mixed message from health authorities on the gondola issue. In a press conference last week, B.C. health minister Adrian Dix told reporters Whistler Mayor Jack Crompton had advocated “forcefully” on his community’s behalf, and the minister expressed hope that Vail Resorts would “respond to the wishes of the community” as other ski hills have. 

“This winter is our first winter with [vaccines administered] so we’re hoping that public health is right on this, because it will have a huge human cost if it doesn’t,” said Coun. Cathy Jewett.