Pending any further delays to vaccine deliveries, COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be up and running in Interior Health in two-to-three weeks, according to health officials.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said last month there will be 172 communities with vaccination clinics.

Interim vice president of pandemic response in Interior Health, Karen Bloemink, says it’s still unclear exactly where those will be in the Interior.

“Planning related to that is underway right now. So in relation to the number of clinics that Dr. Henry has identified, that is based on the identified community health service areas in the province,” Bloemink says.

“And we are just looking at those to determine where we may need to adapt, given the unique nuances around the geography of Interior Health. That information will be available. As I say, we’re actively in the planning right now.”

Chief medical health officer, Dr. Albert de Villiers, explains the opening of vaccination clinics is also pending any further delays to vaccine deliveries.

“There’s been a lull a little bit now, with Pfizer first and now Moderna a little bit. But I think in the next week or so we are going to start getting more vaccine and by the end of the month we’ll be moving full steam ahead. That is if nothing else goes wrong, because we know this is not completely in our control.”

As of Friday’s update, just under 23,000 residents of Interior Health had gotten a COVID-19 vaccine dose, mostly staff and residents of long-term care homes.

Seniors over the age of 80 can expect to be called in the first week of March about whether they want a vaccine dose, and to book an appointment if they do. Doses are expected to start being more widely available in B.C. starting on April 1.