Friday January 22, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., editor | Island Social Trends
All adults in British Columbia will have COVID-19 vaccines available to them in a province-wide rollout now through the end of September.
There are about $4.3 million adult British Columbians within the total population of 5.2 million; vaccines are not yet approved for use in children.
Clinics will be established in 172 communities across BC as part of the BC Immunization Plan. Facilities such as arenas and community centres will be utilized as vaccination centres.
Today Premier John Horgan said the immunization plan “depends on a consistent supply of vaccine”. Dr Bonnie Henry says we are now in the “population protection phase of the plan”.
Priority for vaccination will be age-based, in descending order. That is based on the premise of needing to first protect those who are most susceptible to “severe illness and death”, as iterated by all speakers in today’s media teleconference.
Today’s teleconference was led by Premier John Horgan along with Health Minister Adrian Dix, Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry and Dr Penny Ballem who is leading the logistical rollout of the BC immunization program.
Due to considerations of supply, it’s not possible yet to focus on any particular frontline sectors for vaccine priority, says Dr Henry, and Premier Horgan says he will “follow the science” with regard to priority. BC’s priority is based on which people are “most susceptible to severe illness or death” (which based on statistics is by age).
About 100,000 vaccine doses have been administered so far.
All immunization is executed with two doses for each person who wants to be vaccinated. To date, all approved vaccines (currently Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna) are the mRNA type, which seems to have a very high level of efficacy, which Dr Henry has expressed delight about (compared to experience with other vaccines for other illnesses in the past).
On Vancouver Island there are 739,117 adults eligible for vaccines, it was stated in today’s report.
Everyone will receive a paper copy of their vaccine record. They can sign up for the immunization gateway — in a provincial data set where every vaccine administration will be recorded. That will be used to plan the ongoing control of the pandemic and the history of immunity in the province, said Dr Penny Ballem.
“We are aiming for herd immunity in BC,” said Dr Henry today, reiterating that she prefers to call it “community immunity”. But we are not yet in the position to life public health orders and precautions, she emphasized in today’s media teleconference.
Today Dr Henry said that public health orders restricting social gatherings to household only may need to continue past February 5. That’s based on still not having enough people immunized in the community.
Vaccines will be rolled out in phases.
People in the most high-risk populations will be targeted as Phases 1 and 2 through March, with Phase 3 running April to June for “general population” as well as Phase 4 for “general population” during July to September of this year. The entire program will, so far, proceed based on age in descending order.
