The B.C. government is optimistic that with a longer window between doses and a more storage-friendly vaccine approved for use, everyone in the province 18 years or older will be able to receive a COVID-19 immunization by the end of September or even sooner.
The province provided more concrete details of its sweeping COVID-19 immunization program Monday, giving a glimpse of a potential end to a pandemic entering its second year.
“We can now see the light at the end of what has been a difficult and challenging time for us all. To get us through, we need to continue to work together and support each other,” Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said in a news release.
On Monday, Premier John Horgan revealed that through the end of April, under Phase 2 of the plan, there are more than 415,000 people set to receive their vaccinations including:
- Seniors over 80
- Indigenous people over 65
- Any remaining medical staff and specialists not immunized
- Vulnerable people in close quarters
- Those who work in senior community home support and nursing
Those mass vaccinations will begin in the latter half of March, with a call-in system being launched March 8 for those targeted in Phase 2. On the following dates, seniors and Indigenous people can call in to book their appointments:
- March 8, 2021: Seniors born in or before 1931 (90 years+)/Indigenous peoples born in or
before 1956 (65 years+) - March 15, 2021: Seniors born in or before 1936 (85 years+)
- March 22, 2021: Seniors born in or before 1941 (80 years+)
Vaccines for that group will begin taking place on March 15. The government is asking people to visit its senior vaccination website for more information on health authority contacts, call-in schedules and step-by-step instructions on how to make an appointment.
The government also revealed that over the weekend, it approved a four-month window between doses one and two of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines because the first dose has been higher than 90 per cent effective after three weeks, with protection lasting four months.
Because of that, more initial doses will be made available to a broader segment of the population sooner, according to the province.
The province has been operating under Phases 1 and 2 of its immunization plan over winter, with the most at-risk and vulnerable populations receiving the vaccine so far.
Also not included in the government’s rollout plan was the recently approved Astra-Zeneca vaccine, which Henry touted as being more “fridge-stable” compared to the current two vaccines in use. She also said it will speed up delivery plans even further. Canada is expected to get 24-million doses of the vaccine between April and September. The province is not yet sure how much of that it will be getting and when.
Once Phases 3 and 4 begin more of the general population will be able to schedule their vaccination appointments by phone or through a government website.
One such immunization clinic was held at the University of Victoria over the weekend, where front-line health care workers received their first doses of the vaccine.
