COVID-19 booster shots to be made available to all British Columbians by May 2022

Everyone in B.C. will have access to a COVID-19 booster shot in the coming months, the provincial government announced Tuesday. 

Between now and the end of the year, the immunization program will continue to provide third doses to people who are immunocompromised, to residents in long-term care and to those in assisted living and rural and remote Indigenous communities. 

Seniors aged 70 and over, and all Indigenous people over the age of 12, long-term home support clients and seniors in independent living and health-care workers who had a short interval between their first and second doses will also have the opportunity to receive a third dose by the end of the year.

Starting in January, third dose availability will expand to clinically vulnerable individuals and health-care workers. From there, the rest of the remaining population will become eligible. 

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said for people who have severe immune-compromising conditions, two doses may not be enough to achieve a high level of immunity, which is why health officials are recommending a third.

For others, immunity can go down after time, she said, which is why a booster dose will be used to help bring immunity back up. 

A plan to start vaccinating children between five and 11 is also expected to begin, pending Health Canada approval, though parents can already register their kids to get immunized.

As of Tuesday, nearly 90 per cent of eligible people over the age of 12 in B.C. have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 84 per cent have received a second, which led Dr. Penny Ballem, who is in charge of the immunization program, to call it "very successful."

As the next part of the immunization campaign rolls out, she said, they will look to health authorities for their expertise on how best to offer booster doses in their communities.

People will be eligible for a booster dose six to eight months after they have received their second dose of the vaccine. 

Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, both of the mRNA variety, will be used for the boosters, regardless of what individuals received for their first and second doses, Ballem said.  

Starting in January, the province will send a text or an email to British Columbians who have received two doses of vaccine with an invitation to book an appointment for a booster.

The boosters will be available by appointment only. Drop-ins will not be allowed, as they can create pressure on clinics, Henry said.

Watch | Dr. Henry hopeful booster shot may provide long-lasting protection: