Teachers, firefighters, and police officers are among many groups of employees in B.C. who will now be eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine earlier than first expected.

The province says it will receive 340,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine doses in the next two months, which will almost entirely be used to vaccinate frontline workers.

Those include firefighters, police officers, correctional officers, bylaw officers, teachers, childcare providers, postal workers, “cross border transport” workers, grocery store staff, warehouse and manufacturing employees and staff living in congregate housing, like on ski hills.

“We know how challenging this pandemic has been on our front-line workers,” Premier John Horgan says.

“Many of these people have come to work throughout this pandemic, continuing to teach and care for our children, stock the shelves of our local grocery store and keep our communities safe. By immunizing these front-line workers, we are making workplaces and communities throughout our province safer.”

Horgan says about 80,000 vaccine doses of the AstraZeneca have already arrived, and next month the province will start administering those doses to the frontline workers listed above.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says community pharmacists, clinics and mobile clinics at worksites will be used to provide those vaccine doses. She says the AstraZeneca inoculation is fridge-stable, which she says makes distribution more flexible than other vaccines.

In a statement, BC Teacher’s Federation President, Teri Mooring, says she is relieved that teachers will be prioritized to get a vaccine, starting next month.

“Teachers, support staff, and other education workers have gone above and beyond every single day to make sure our students are safe. We have also done everything we can to make sure each other are safe, but, this virus has still found its way into our schools and classrooms,” she says.