Your digest

Next live townhall to focus on diversity, equity and inclusion

As we approach the one-year anniversary of our employee survey on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and prepare to celebrate Pride Month, National Indigenous History Month and other important diversity days in June, we are excited to share that our next live townhall will focus on DEI. On Wednesday, June 2, Graham will be moderating and leading a discussion with a panel of experts to answer questions about the work that has been done this past year as part of our commitment to DEI, how we’re continuing to listen, learn and take steps to address inequity and systemic racism within our organization and where we’re headed next.

We will be sharing details about our panelists next week, but in the meantime, we encourage you to submit your questions about this topic – or any other topics that are important to you. You can send your written or recorded (video or audio) questions to communications@blood.ca with the subject line “TOWNHALL.”

Participate in the June 2 live townhall by clicking on the meeting link in your Outlook invite. Can’t make it live? A recording of the event will be available on your COVID-19 employee portal within 24 hours.

My COVID-19 vaccination story: Sean and Renée

As efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 continue across the country, many employees have come forward to share their vaccination experiences and motivations as part of our COVID-19 vaccination story series. In today’s installment, we hear from Sean Delaney, a two-time kidney transplant recipient and senior advisor and program lead, OTDT, from Edmonton, Alta., and Renee Naiman, a cord blood collections specialist from Brampton, Ont. Both Sean and Renee are the proud recipients of two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. Read their stories on Connect and explore some of the other submissions in our series.

Starting this week, we’ll be publishing the stories of those who have received or booked both doses of a vaccine. If you are considered fully vaccinated (or hope to be soon) and would like to share your story, please email communications@blood.ca with the subject line “MY VACCINE STORY”.

‘My Asian Heritage has rubbed off on my work’

May is Asian Heritage Month and to recognize it, we are exploring the unique connections and contributions to Canada’s Lifeline of employees, donors and patients of Asian descent. In our latest profile, Lilet Raffiñan, a territory manager in Toronto, Ont., discusses some of the challenges and rewards that come along with recruiting blood donors in one of the world’s most multicultural urban areas. Lilet brings her passion for diversity, equity and inclusion to her role to help develop equitable opportunities and foster inclusive spaces for all donors and says that her Asian heritage helps her forge many of the connections she makes with diverse groups. Read more at blood.ca/stories.

New partnership with Roche Diagnostics to support COVID-19 antibodies study

Earlier this week, we announced a new partnership with pharmaceutical company Roche Diagnostics, to support a Canadian seroprevalence study. Canadian Blood Services has been regularly testing blood donor samples for COVID-19 antibodies since last summer to help improve our understanding of the virus and how widespread it is in our country. Our partnership with Roche will help us obtain further data to better understand Canadians’ immune response to COVID-19, the difference between antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines and natural infection, the impact of the virus on younger populations, vaccination strategies and more. This information could help to inform public health measures. Read our press release for more information.

Question of the day: Can you provide information about vaccine availability for children? 

Local public health and your health care provider can help guide you about the availability of COVID-19 vaccines for children in your jurisdiction. More details on vaccines authorized for use in Canada can be found at COVID-19 Vaccines: Authorized vaccines - Canada.ca 

Please continue to check our vaccine portal, where we provide general vaccine age eligibility for adults and children. 

About your digest

This digest will highlight 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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Have questions? Check out blood.ca/employees or email us at communications@blood.ca