Dr. Kate Bishop-Williams is trained on how to handle a pandemic, but she wishes she never had to use that experience firsthand like she is now.
The Epidemiologist has made Norfolk County her home, after completing her many years of schooling at the University of Guelph.
She said she wanted to pick one community to move her family to and plant their seeds for good and was thankful when a full-time position opened up locally.
Her role at the Health Unit changed dramatically last year as a global pandemic hit and then slowly made its way into our community.
Week after week, there are new twists and turns as they try to walk a tight rope of the ever-changing virus.
She says even a year in, there is always something new to consider.
The job a year ago was all about containing the virus and keeping the community safe.
Now it’s looking at Variants of Concern, age demographics for these variants, managing outbreaks, looking at the vaccine rollout in the data, and more.
Bishop-Williams has over a decade of education preparing for moments like this, and she is glad to be on a team that is all trying their best to handle the situation and better the community.
One challenge she faces, and others in her field, is the growing conspiracies that keep popping up and messages targeted at the Health Unit and other provincial protocols they need to enforce.
She said it can be hard being an expert in a certain field and have your knowledge on the subject questioned repeatedly by people online, but she assures the public that every decision made locally is well thought out by the team and is done to keep the community safe.
Her full interview is below.