The B.C. government says everyone over the age of 18 can register online for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment.
As of noon today, the registration system will be open to all adults, though at this time, people over the age of 60 are being told they can book a vaccine appointment. It is estimated there are over 90,000 people over the age of 60 who will be getting these invitations.
“Since the Get Vaccinated provincial registration and booking system started on April 6, over 1.5 million British Columbians have registered and nearly 500,000 have booked their shot,” the province said, in a statement.
“We encourage everyone to register on the Get Vaccinated website – whether they are getting their vaccine as part of the age-based program, worker program or at their local pharmacy.”
As of yesterday, more than 1.5 million doses of a vaccine have been administered in B.C., 88,475 of which are second doses. A number of adults in smaller communities like Logan Lake and Clearwater have already gotten a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
B.C.’s age-based vaccination program runs parallel to the pharmacy program which began for people between the age of 55 and 65, before being expanded to people 40 and older. For more on the pharmacy program, go here.
The government says the booking system will be automatically updated if people get the AstraZeneca vaccine at a pharmacy after they registered with the province, but hadn’t booked an appointment. Those people will be able to register for a second dose on May 1.
Also today, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said it is recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine for people over the age of 30 if they do not want to wait for the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine.
It is after it recommended pausing the use of the vaccine for people under 55 out of an abundance of caution after reports of rare blood clots. NACI says Health Canada released a safety assessment that showed the benefits of the shots outweigh the risks, which the committee also evaluated.
“We all have to do our part to protect those who are at higher risk, even if we are not high risk ourselves,” Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry said, in a statement.
“This means doing three things: when it is your turn to get your vaccine – go, always using your safety layers and staying within your local communities. This is how we will protect our loved ones, our community and ourselves.”
Henry says by registering with the province even if you’ve gotten the AstraZeneca vaccine at a pharmacy, it will help when it comes to booking your second dose.
People will get an email, a text message or a phone call when it’s time to book another vaccine appointment.