Six members of Hollyburn Country Club’s board of directors have resigned, less than a week after the club organized an exclusive pop-up vaccine clinic that was later cancelled.
In an email sent last night to club members, board president Carol Fraser stated it had been a “very busy week” for Hollyburn’s board and management team. “We wanted to let you know that on April 28, six Hollyburn board members tendered their resignations.”
Members of the club have stood divided recently, after the club had been set to host Indigo Pharmacy on April 26 in order to offer “a very limited quantity of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for members ages 40 to 65,” according to an April 22 email sent to members by Hollyburn CEO Ed McLaughlin.
On April 23, the province officially cancelled the club’s pop-up clinic, labelling it “unacceptable.”
“We cancelled the clinic and won’t be providing any further COVID-19 vaccines to this pharmacy,” a health ministry spokesperson said in an emailed response to the North Shore News.
In an email sent to club members on April 26, Fraser clarified that the pop-clinic had initially been organized in order to vaccinate Hollyburn staff and there was “no payment made to the pharmacist from Hollyburn for this.”
When it became clear that there would be 42 leftover vaccines, members in the appropriate age range were then offered appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. All 42 appointments were booked within six minutes and a wait list of 250 members was generated, according to the email.
“The distribution of vaccines in this manner has been called ‘elitist’ and ‘tone-deaf,’ given the current climate and clearly lacking in sensitivity to the broader issues around the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and this became very apparent to us once the cancelled clinic garnered the attention of the media on Friday evening,” stated Fraser, in the April 26 email. On behalf of the board's executive committee, an elected subset of the board, Fraser offered an apology. “For this lack of sensitivity and judgment, we sincerely apologize.”
Earlier this week, two online petitions began circulating among club members. One petition, which has received more than 400 signatures, has called for the removal of McLaughlin in response to the planned clinic.
Another petition, which so far has received more than 1,000 signatures, was launched to counter the initial petition and has called for members to support McLaughlin as well as the club executive and board of directors.
Fraser confirmed that six members of Hollyburn’s 16-person board resigned on April 28, though she could not specify if their resignations were specifically due to the events of the past week.
“Hollyburn respects the rights of these board members to terminate their positions with the board, and the club remains grateful for the contributions these members made during their time on the board,” stated Fraser, in an emailed response to the North Shore News. “As a private club, and as you can appreciate, the specific dealings of the board are confidential, and matters discussed at the board must remain as such.”
Second story published April 26 at 11:25 a.m. with a brief update on April 27
West Vancouver country club members have mixed views after 'vaccination scandal' by Ben Bengtson and Elisia Seeber
Members of the Hollyburn Country Club stand divided after the club organized an exclusive pop-up vaccine clinic that was later cancelled.
While some angered members of the West Vancouver club are calling for a change of leadership and the “immediate removal” of chief executive Ed McLaughlin, others are in support of his efforts to keep everyone at the club safe.
The club was set to host Indigo Pharmacy on April 26, from noon to 3 p.m. to offer “a very limited quantity of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for members ages 40 to 65,” according to an April 22 email sent to members by McLaughlin.
The email stated there are long wait-lists for COVID-19 vaccines in local communities and members could book an appointment by providing their name, membership number and a preferred time slot.
B.C. residents have been told previously to book their AstraZeneca vaccine directly through local pharmacies.
The B.C. government later cancelled the club’s pop-up clinic, labelling it “unacceptable.”
“We cancelled the clinic and won’t be providing any further COVID-19 vaccines to this pharmacy,” a health ministry spokesperson said in an emailed response to the North Shore News.
Since news broke of the pop-up clinic, two change.org petitions have begun circulating.
One petition, 'Vaccination Scandal: Change the leadership at Hollyburn Country Club,' kicked off by club member Chris Browne over the weekend, received more than 180 signatures in less than 24 hours in support of McLaughlin's removal.
These members are outraged that their mission statement, ‘friends, family, community,’ has been “corrupted by the senior leadership of our club to mean selfish privilege” according the petition.
“We believe this project reflects an indefensible lack of judgment by the leadership of the club that demands appropriate repercussions,” Browne wrote on change.org, adding that the group is also calling for the resignation of any directors who were aware of and condoned this project.
In response to the group calling for McLaughlin to resign, a second petition, 'Please support HCC CEO, Ed McLaughlin, Club Executive & Board of Directors,' was started by members in support of the chief executive and board members, which received more than 800 signatures in a day.
“At times like this, we feel it is important to speak up and show our support of the HCC team that has worked tirelessly and transparently throughout this pandemic,” Carlota Lee and Dana Inman wrote on the petition.
In a statement on April 24, McLaughlin apologized for the club organizing a vaccine clinic, not available to the general public, without further consideration.
He said the club consulted with the pharmacy that delivers staff's yearly flu vaccinations, to schedule the vaccination clinic for staff who are eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine (aged 40 and over) and there were more vaccines than needed.
“When there were more vaccines available than staff who were eligible and who chose to participate, the decision was made to offer the remaining vaccines to eligible members who had not yet received their first vaccine,” McLaughlin said in the statement.
He said Hollyburn offered no compensation to the pharmacist and no vaccines would have been offered to members if the available vaccines had been fully used by staff.
“While our intention was to do our utmost to protect the health and safety of our community, we cancelled the program in response to guidance from the health authority,” McLaughlin said.
“Given the current environment in which everyone is anxious to receive a vaccine, we understand the concern that has been expressed about offering a clinic that is not available to the general public. We apologize for having organized the clinic without full consideration of this.”
Browne said the decision to host the clinic demonstrated “an unacceptable level of insensitivity” and was “irresponsible and unacceptable.”
“There is simply no justification for Hollyburn members or staff to jump the queue ahead of any other Canadian and it is even more reprehensible, given the much more severe outbreak in the Fraser Health Authority, that vaccination spots be taken away from communities or individuals in need.”
While supporters, Lee and Inman, “believe that all decisions were made with the best intentions to support the HCC employees.”
West Vancouver Mayor Mary-Ann Booth was not in support. After being members for 25 years, Booth announced Saturday (April 24) she and her family would be cancelling their Hollyburn memberships in response to news of the proposed pop-up clinic.
Booth said neither she nor her husband had seen the email by the country club informing members of the vaccine clinic when it was sent out a few days ago. She said she was "appalled" to learn about the plan from reports in the media.
"I couldn't believe it, actually. ... It looked like people were jumping the queue and getting special treatment. I don't believe in that," said Booth. "I cancelled my membership at 12:20 today."
The mayor has been quarantining at home after her husband contracted COVID-19.
“Given what I have come through with my husband and being in quarantine until tomorrow, I do encourage everybody to get registered and get vaccinated as soon as they can – and follow the proper channels and publicly approved process," she said.
Earlier this week, the province started offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people 40 and over.
On Thursday, provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix said he expects the province’s supply of AstraZeneca vaccine to be depleted in the coming week.
Original story first published April 24 at 10:03 a.m.
Province Nixes Planned 'Pop-up' Vaccine Clinic at West Van's Hollyburn Country Club by Ben Bengtson
A planned “pop-up” vaccine clinic that would have been offered at Hollyburn Country Club next week has been cancelled by the B.C. government.
The West Vancouver country club was set to host Indigo Pharmacy on Monday, April 26 from noon to 3 p.m. to offer “a very limited quantity of the first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine for members ages 40 to 65,” according to an April 22 email sent to members by Hollyburn CEO Ed McLaughlin.
The email stated there are long wait-lists for COVID-19 vaccines in local communities and members could book an appointment by providing their name, membership number and a preferred time slot.
Indigo Pharmacy has branches in Vancouver and New Westminster, according to its website.
B.C. residents have been told previously to book their AstraZeneca vaccine directly through local pharmacies.
In a statement to the North Shore News, the province said the pop-up clinic had been cancelled.
“This is unacceptable. We cancelled the clinic and won’t be providing any further COVID-19 vaccines to this pharmacy,” the statement read.
After being members for 25 years, West Vancouver Mayor Mary-Ann Booth announced Saturday (April 24) she and her family would be cancelling their Hollyburn memberships in response to news of the proposed pop-up clinic.
Booth said neither her or her husband had seen the email by the country club informing members of the vaccine clinic when it was sent out a few days ago. She said she was "appalled" to learn about the plan from reports in the media.
"I couldn't believe it, actually. ... It looked like people were jumping the queue and getting special treatment. I don't believe in that," said Booth. "I cancelled my membership at 12:20 today."
The mayor has been quarantining at home after her husband contracted COVID-19.
“Given what I have come through with my husband and being in quarantine until tomorrow, I do encourage everybody to get registered and get vaccinated as soon as they can – and follow the proper channels and publicly approved process," she said.
Earlier this week, the province started offering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people 40 and over.
On Thursday, provincial Health Minister Adrian Dix said he expects the province’s supply of AstraZeneca vaccine to be depleted in the coming week.
