BC Liberal Interim Leader Shirley Bond and MLA Renee Merrifield, BC Liberal Critic for Health, said on Wednesday that at a time when people are looking for hope, Premier John Horgan and the NDP’s constant bungling is creating confusion and concern over vaccinations.

They pointed out that on Tuesday, the NDP issued a news release late in the day that demonstrated there was still no province-wide, specific, detailed plan for the vaccine rollout in British Columbia.

Bond and Merrifield said: “Once the release was out, without any officials explaining it, many pharmacies were overwhelmed or simply didn’t even know they were on the list to start vaccinations today. Despite being told to call on March 31, many appointments were fully filled before the booking window even opened. And to make matters worse, there is still no province-wide online booking system.

“For weeks we have consistently been asking John Horgan to include community pharmacies as part of the rollout and to have a clearly laid out plan. That didn’t happen and British Columbians deserve better. Yesterday was just another example of incompetence from a government that cannot manage to deliver on critical programs like the vaccination rollout.

“Now the 55 to 65 age cohort in the Lower Mainland is left wondering what happened after feeling a sense of hope about the possibility of being vaccinated. We can certainly understand how people are feeling frustration and anger about the latest problems with the vaccination rollout. It’s time for the Premier to step up, sort out the mess and put a plan in place that will ensure the vaccination process works for British Columbians. People expect, and deserve, better from this Premier and his government.”