Your digest

One country, one strategy: how harmonizing Canada’s vaccination approach could better prepare us for the next pandemic

To prepare for the next pandemic and provide a coordinated approach to vaccination across the country, Canada should create Canadian Immunization Services based on the Canadian Blood Services model, authors propose in a new article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). Different vaccination schedules for each province and territory, different terminology and variations in immunization tracking have made the response to COVID-19 challenging, and Canada’s system fragmented, argue CEO Dr. Graham Sher and his fellow authors, former federal minister of health Dr. Jane Philpott and Dr. Kumanan Wilson, leading health policy and immunization expert. “Twenty-three years ago, Canadian Blood Services … was founded to restore confidence in the blood system,” says Dr. Sher. “We believe that Canada can effectively prepare for the next pandemic by establishing a world-class vaccination system based on this model as well.” Read our news release on blood.ca and view the full article from CMAJ.

How to change your legal name and IT account name

Names are personal – and for many of us, they are an important part of our identity. The way our names show up in our company emails, SAP and other IT systems can affect feelings of inclusion and belonging, so it is important that employees feel comfortable with the way they are represented in those spaces. There are many reasons why an employee would need to change their name or use an alternate name in our systems: marriage or divorce, a gender change, a desire to abbreviate a longer name, a desire to display in full a name that has been abbreviated and more. To make the process to change your name within Canadian Blood Services’ systems as easy as possible, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on Connect.

Eid Mubarak to all who are celebrating this week!

This week, many of our Muslim colleagues, donors, recipients, volunteers and partners are celebrating Eid al-Adha, also known as the feast of sacrifice. The four-day celebration takes place from July 19 to July 23 and is one of the most important holidays in the Islamic calendar. It’s a time to reflect on the lessons of sacrifice and the values of service, compassion and charity. To mark this special holiday, we talked to volunteer resource coordinator, Anna Yassin, and volunteer, Sumayah Asward, who are spending this week observing Eid and reflecting on what it means to work in an environment where they feel supported and empowered to celebrate. “For folks to see some of the things that we celebrate in our personal lives also recognized in our professional spaces, it means a lot,” says Anna. “I feel a sense of happiness and belonging and acceptance for something that is very dear to my heart.” Read more from Anna and Sumayah on Connect.

Question of the day: Will the wellness checkpoints change from site to site, depending on that region’s restrictions?

Yes. Because each province has its own re-opening plans and restrictions, the wellness checkpoint questions will change to reflect provincial guidelines. As the pandemic continues to evolve, the COVID-19 program will review these questions weekly to determine what needs to change.

It’s important to remember that the wellness checkpoint is to determine if the donor is healthy enough to enter the donor collection event, not to determine a donor’s eligibility to donate blood.

Please check with your manager/supervisor if you have questions about specific changes/restrictions, or email communications@blood.ca.

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About your digest

This digest highlights the latest policy and employee support measures, resources to help you manage our new reality and original content like articles and videos to remind us that what we do matters.  No access to email? No problem — all this information and more can be found on blood.ca/employees from any device, no login required.     

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