Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says her priority is protecting the health of British Columbians, as the province awaits the final results of the Oct. 19 election.

The B.C. Conservative party has promised to fire Henry if they form government. Henry was asked Tuesday (Oct. 22), during an update on B.C.'s respiratory illness season and fall vaccine campaign kickoff, her thoughts on that possibility.

Alluding to the need for – Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat â€“ and mail-in ballots to be counted, Henry said there is still "a lot of uncertainty." Currently, the B.C. NDP hold the most seats at 46, followed by Conservatives with 45 and the with two seats. 

"My office – the Office of the Provincial Health Officer – is an independent office and my role is to serve whatever government is in power. I will do my best to do that. If the party decides that they would prefer somebody who is more aligned with them, then that is their prerogative to do that."

Prior to the election, the B.C. NDP shared a video of B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad questioning the effectiveness and purpose of the COVID-19 vaccine. In the video from June, Rustad said that when talking to Henry it "wasn't so much about ... trying to get herd immunity or trying to stop the spread, but it was more around shaping opinion and control on the population." 

Rustad has said had three shots of the vaccine. 

However, Henry said what is most important to her and her office right now is protecting the health of everybody in B.C.

"The democratic process is incredibly important and I'm very happy to see so many people participating by exercising their right to vote. I think it's important for all of us, but while we wait for final results, my office and the work that we do will continue," Henry said.

In regards to Rustad's criticism of civil liberties around vaccines, Henry was asked to reflect on the province's policies and mandates.

"I worry a little bit that we're in a phase of collective forgetting, which is not uncommon after a major traumatic event. All of us want this to be behind us and not have to think about this anymore, but I have done a lot of reflection about the things that we did to try and manage during times of great uncertainty. I think we have to remember that."

In July, Henry , which had been ongoing for more than four years. It was first declared on March 17, 2020 and allowed Henry and the province to enforce restrictions and policies, such as vaccine mandates for health-care workers.  

The province ended mask mandates in health-care settings back in April, after r at the beginning of the influenza season. 

"We did what we did to try and find that balance. We know that there were harms caused — extreme harms caused — by this virus, particularly for older people, for people who were immune-compromised, but we also know the impact of the measures that we put in place had differential negative effects on younger people, particularly."

She said her role was to always "try and find that balance of protecting people" as best as her office could.

"The one thing I am absolutely, absolutely certain of is the fact that the vaccines that we had, and the ability to provide protection through immunization, is what got us through this pandemic and what made it so that we can live with this virus and stop some of the restrictions that were necessary at a time when we didn't have the protection from vaccines."

– With files from The Canadian Press, Wolf Depner