Vaxed on PEI? Better thank Betty

Betty MacDonald may not think of herself as a hero, but her boss sure does.

“There is no doubt in my mind. When I think of unsung heroes of the pandemic, I think of Betty MacDonald. People need to know about her.”

     – Alicia McCallum, temporary pharmacy manager for Health PEI’s Provincial Pharmacy Services

MacDonald is a pharmacy procurement officer with Health PEI. Pre-COVID-19, she managed the distribution of vaccines across the province.

“Now she does all that, and she manages distribution of every single dose of COVID vaccine administered on this Island,” said McCallum. “It’s nothing short of amazing.”

"It's funny,” said MacDonald, when she looks back at her job over the last two years. “I guess you don’t see the volume at any given time, but it does feel good when I think of the number of doses administered on the Island. It’s pretty cool to think I helped get it to each person.”

MacDonald said her job evolved quickly as the pandemic progressed. She remembers the early scramble for minus-80-degree freezers to store the vaccines when they arrived. She thinks, too, of the firefighters who volunteered to transport it around the province.

“When the first shipment arrived, there was a lot of excitement,” she said. “A whole lot of people had pinned their hopes on this vaccine. Everyone was so positive and helpful. I think P.E.I. has done a great job.”

McCallum wants Islanders to know the role MacDonald played in protecting all of us from COVID-19.

 “When we think of heroes of the pandemic, we tend to think of doctors and nurses,” she said. “I don’t know how we would have gotten through to this stage without Betty. She’s a hero in my book.”