The B.C. government says starting next week, seniors will be able to start booking appointments to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and it also says first and second vaccine doses will now be spread out to four months.
Starting next Monday, March 8, seniors who are 90 and older will be able to call a dedicated phone number in their health authority to book a vaccine appointment, and doses will start being given out to that population on March 15.
Meanwhile, on March 15, seniors aged 85 and older can start booking vaccine appointments, and on March 22 seniors aged 80 and older can call to book. Indigenous residents who are 65 or older can start booking on March 8.
The province says call-in numbers will be different for each health authority. Details on what number to call, and where vaccine clinics will be, can be found at gov.bc.ca/bcseniorsfirst, which can be found by clicking here.
The government urges that when people call to book a vaccine appointment, they will never be asked to provide their SIN number, driver’s license number or bank or credit card details.
Between today and March 15, the province is continuing to vaccinate hospital healthcare workers who may be working with COVID-19 patients, people in remote and isolated Indigenous communities, support staff and clients in long-term care and high-risk seniors living in independent or assisted living facilities.
The vaccinate rollout for people aged 80 and over, which is phase two of the province’s immunization plan, will take place from March 15 to April 11.
After April 11, the vaccine was be available in five-year intervals for the general public, starting with people aged 75 to 79.
Four-Month Spread Between Vaccine Doses
Meanwhile, as of today, anyone getting a COVID-19 vaccine dose will now have to wait four months to get their second shot.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says this will allow more people to get their first vaccine dose sooner. She says the scientific data is clear, in that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at least 90 per cent of the time, even in seniors and high-risk people. She calls that “miraculous” compared to vaccines created to treat other diseases.
Henry also says there a benefit to the response of somebody’s immune system if they get a second vaccine dose between two and four months after their first dose.
According to the province, the new delay means all people in Indigenous communities will be able to get a vaccine dose sooner, as will “any remaining priority populations from phase two,” and potentially residents who are aged 79 or younger.
Initially, health officials recommended that first and second doses be administered within 28 days, but that has been pushed back as research has progressed and as vaccine shipments from different manufacturers have seen delays.
More to come.
