The Province continues to expand the age eligibility for residents of British Columbia to get their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently, residents aged 49 and over are eligible to register and book their vaccine appointment, however, the government is planning on dropping the age imminently.
According to a release issued on Thursday, the Province of B.C. is planning on lowering the vaccination age to 46 years and older, starting on Friday, May 7.
Only a few days later, Sunday, May 9, the Province intends to start booking people who are 43 and older.
Finally, by as early as next Tuesday, British Columbians who are 40 years old and up will be eligible to book their vaccines at an immunization clinic in their area.
In order to book a vaccination, people must register through B.C.’s Get Vaccinated system to get an email or text notification prompting them to book an appointment when it is their turn. The government is encouraging anyone who is not registered to do so by either going online, calling a provincial call centre between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. (Pacific time) at 1 833 838-2323 or by visiting a Service BC location.
The government says in order to register online, British Columbians need their Personal Health Number, postal code, date of birth and an e-mail address that gets checked regularly or a phone number that can receive texts.
Currently, 43 per cent of B.C.’s eligible target population of 4.3 million have received their first dose of vaccine.
Since the Get Vaccinated provincial registration and booking system started on April 6, more than 2.1 million British Columbians have registered.
During a live briefing on Thursday, Dr. Bonnie Henry also indicated that the province was set to surpass the 2-million mark for vaccines administered before Friday.
Graham Cox
