B.C. health authority apologizes after yellow star handed out at COVID-19 vaccine clinic
A British Columbia health authority is apologizing after being made aware that a clinic had handed out yellow stars for those getting their second COVID-19 vaccines.
Vancouver Coastal Health became aware of the issue when a vaccine recipient posted a photo on social media.
"A yellow star for double vaccination? Really…?" Andrea Coutu wrote on Twitter Thursday, tagging VCH, the provincial health minister and the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Her photo showed her immunization record card and a yellow star that appeared to be similar, if not the same, as the sticky note in that shape made by Post-It.
Many clinics in B.C. have been using coloured, square sticky notes to designate which vaccine a person in line is getting, though it was not immediately clear if this was why Coutu was handed the star.
In response, Vancouver Coastal Health posted an apology about the incident, noting the connotation of the yellow star, a symbol Jews in Nazi-occupied Europe were once forced to wear as a means of identification.
The six-pointed star, as described by the Montreal Holocaust Museum, "facilitated the persecution of Jews by identifying them during mass arrests and later deportations."
"We are deeply concerned by reports that a yellow star was provided at a VCH clinic to an individual who received a vaccination. We take these reports seriously," the health authority wrote.
VCH said it had looked into every clinic in the authority and had "no knowledge" of the stars being handed out anywhere. It said the star has not been approved for distribution anywhere.
"We apologize profusely for any inadvertent distribution of this sticker. The use of yellow stars carries a heavy and tragic history, especially for the Jewish community, and does not reflect our organization's values or our commitment to provide culturally safe care across our health authority," VCH wrote.
"We understand that this gesture is considered hurtful."
In a brief message posted on Twitter, the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver thanked VCH for its "responsiveness and strong statement," as well as "all you do to keep us healthy."
Nico Slobinsky, senior director at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs also commented on the apology.
"Thank you (VCH) for this statement and for acknowledging the hurt and trauma that seeing a yellow star used in a medical setting has for the Jewish community," he wrote.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.