B.C. COVID-19 vaccine plan: Seniors 80+ can get shot starting March 15 – Vancouver Sun

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VICTORIA — Seniors over 80 and Indigenous people over 65 will start receiving their COVID-19 vaccinations on March 15, B.C.’s premier said Monday morning as he released details of the province’s mass vaccination plan for the general public.

The province will extend the timeline between the first and second dose to 16 weeks, or 112 days, to allow a broader segment of the population to receive vaccine protection sooner. During Monday’s press conference, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said research has shown that one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine provides up to 90 per cent protection for up to four months.

Approximately 400,000 people, including 175,000 seniors over 80 living at home and 35,000 Indigenous seniors over 65, will receive their first dose of the vaccine in mid-March and early April as part of phase 2 of B.C.’s four-phase vaccination strategy.

About 190,000 vaccines are destined for high-risk groups, including health care workers, and high-risk people living in congregate settings, such as shelters or correctional facilities. Vaccines will also be delivered to about 9,000 people living in remote or isolated Indigenous communities who are still waiting for the vaccine.

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Premier John Horgan said while the vaccine plan will likely provide optimism for seniors, he stressed that it’s import for people to continue to follow public health guidelines over the coming months.

“Although there is light at the end of the tunnel, we are far from out of this,” Horgan said. “We have months to go. And I want British Columbians to take the good news we’re hearing today with the joy that it deserves but we need to remind ourselves not just today but next week and next month that we have a long long way to go.”

Seniors can begin calling to book their appointment on or after March 8. Each health authority will have their own call centre number.

The province has divided the over-80 population into subgroups the avoid overloading the call system, which has been a source of frustration in other provinces. The subgroups are as follows:

• On March 8, seniors over 90 and Indigenous people over 65 can begin calling to book their appointment starting March 15.
• On March 15, seniors over 85 can call to book a vaccination appointment starting March 22.
• On March 22, seniors over 80 can call to book their vaccination appointment starting March 29.

The province is asking people to only call when they are eligible. Anyone who misses their age-based dates can still call and book their vaccination any time after they become eligible.

Seniors can have a family member, friend or any support person call for them. Health authority call centre information and step-by-step process will soon be available via gov.bc.ca/bcseniorsfirst and health authority websites. Fraser Health Authority will also have an online booking system because of the number of seniors in the region.

When people call their regional health authority, they will be asked for their full name, date of birth, postal code, personal health number and contact information. People will be given a choice of nearby vaccination clinics and the call centre agent will confirm the time and location of the vaccination appointment. The province will also direct people to information if they are feeling hesitant about receiving the vaccine.

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To avoid fraud, the province is warning people that the health authority will never ask people for their social insurance number, driver’s license number or banking and credit card details.

Vaccinations for people between the ages of 60 to 79 will begin in mid-April as part of Phase 3. The vaccine will be prioritized based on five-year increments, starting with people aged 75 to 79 and Indigenous people over 60, who can start registering for an appointment at the end of March. People will be expected to register through a two-step online registration and booking system with a provincial call centre to help those who need it.

Finally, those under 59 will receive their vaccinations between July and September, again based on five-year increments, going from oldest to youngest.

The province is expecting 415,000 vaccines to arrive between now and mid-April, including 255,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine that will provide first doses until March 29. Two shipments, or 160,000 doses, of the Moderna vaccine are expected to arrive in mid-to-late March.

Henry said the third vaccine, the Oxford-AstraZeneca, approved by Health Canada on Friday, could provide the opportunity for some first-responders and essential front-line workers — such as postal workers, poultry workers, teachers and police officers — to get the vaccine sooner. She said those workers could have the choice between receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine sooner or waiting for until their age category for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

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“I think it’s really good news,” Henry said. “It means that everyone moves up in line.”

B.C. is expecting 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca by the second week of March. The federal government has secured 22 million doses, which are expected to arrive between April and September.

The two-dose AstraZeneca viral vector vaccine vaccine has been shown to be 62 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 starting from two weeks after the second dose, said Health Canada. It is considered “fridge stable,” making it easier to transport and distribute than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have to be stored in extremely cold temperatures.

The first phase of the vaccination, which started in January, targeted residents, staff and essential visitors of long-term care and assisted living homes — the majority of whom have received their jabs — as well as health workers caring for COVID-19 patients and people living in remote Indigenous communities some of whom are still waiting for their shots.

During the first two weeks of March, vaccinations will be delivered to health care workers, high-risk seniors and staff in independent living homes, high-risk seniors living in supportive housing and high-risk people living in congregate settings like shelters, group homes, correctional facilities and residential treatment centres. Another 70,000 people will receive their second dose in March.

The biggest challenge for the province so far has been supply delays as Canada relies on drug manufacturers outside its borders for vaccine doses.

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The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have been administered during Phase 1, have shown to be more than 90 per cent effective and have reduced COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care homes.

As of Feb. 26, 252,373 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province, 73,808 of which are second doses. That represents about 3.5 per cent of B.C.’s population, which lags behind nearby Washington State which has vaccinated about 14 per cent of its population.

The B.C. government has promised that approximately 4.3 million British Columbians over 18 will be vaccinated by September, equating to 8.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

with files from Cheryl Chan

kderosa@postmedia.com
twitter.com/katiederosayyj

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