Under new policy, everyone five years and older must get at least the first dose of the experimental Covid-19 vaccine.
QUICK FACTS:
- Ronald McDonald House, a nonprofit charity organization, has announced it will relocate unvaccinated residents by the end of the month.
- Everyone five and older must be vaccinated in order to stay at Ronald McDonald House in British Columbia and Yukon, CityNews reports.
- The charity said on Wednesday it would move children and families under its care to alternate housing if they are not vaccinated against Covid-19 by Jan 31, some of the listed alternatives including hotels or similar charity facilities.
- A video recently posted to social media shows a father confronting staff regarding the new mandate, in it the man claiming his son who has Leukemia was being evicted due to his vaccination status.
- A staff member seen in the video does not provide any suggestions that the organization will help the family find alternative accommodation, notes CityNews.
WHAT RONALD MCDONALD HOUSE SAID:
- Ronald McDonald House later issued a statement saying its family services team and social workers will work to find alternate housing for families who refuse to get everyone over the age of five vaccinated by the deadline, according to CityNews.
- “On the recommendation of public health, the 14 member Board of Directors made the decision to mandate vaccinations for everyone working, visiting, or staying at RMH BC & Yukon to ensure we meet the highest standards of health and safety and protect the vulnerable population we serve,” the emailed statement reads.
- “We appreciate that this policy will impact those who have made a decision not to vaccinate however, the overall health and welfare of all our residents is our primary concern.”
WHAT THE FATHER SAID:
- Austin Furgason, a father-of-two from Kelowna, British Columbia, shared a video on Facebook on Tuesday showing him confronting an administrator at the Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver, where his family have been staying while his four-year-old son, Jack, according to The Daily Mail.
- Jack is undergoing treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
- Mr. Furgason called the mandate “some kind of crazy evil like I’ve never seen in my life.”
- “I just want to get this straight: by the end of the month, my four-year-old boy with Leukemia is getting evicted because we don’t have a vaccine?” he asks in the video, as the administrator replies that the eviction would not apply to his son (who is under five) but rather to his parents if they are unvaccinated.
- “You are evicting kids with Leukemia,” he said. “It’s not just us. We have talked with other families in the same boat.”
- “I was in shock when I received the eviction letter, and I am still in shock,” the Kelowna husband and father said, notes Toronto Sun, “Even Fox News wanted me to come on.”
- “It’s not OK in our view,” said Furgason. “We think it’s pretty messed up.”
- Reports say a fundraiser on GoFundMe for Austin and Lindsay Furgason was started shortly following the video was uploaded to Facebook, as of Wednesday the fund raising $73,623 for their son’s cancer treatment.
BACKGROUND:
- Ronald McDonald House sent letters to its resident families informing them of the mandate on Monday, notes The Washington Examiner.
- Ronald McDonald House Charities—founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1974—runs many hundreds of programs benefiting sick children and their families in 62 countries.
- The video of Furgason’s confrontation with the RMHBC administrator went viral on Twitter, being viewed more than 721,000 times as of Wednesday.
