B.C. will launch its province-wide online COVID-19 vaccine booking system Tuesday amid rising counts of new cases and variants of concern.
Dr. Penny Ballem, executive lead for B.C.’s COVID-19 immunization program, said the province has worked “diligently and tirelessly” to get the online registration, booking and tracking system ready.
The new system will kick off the next phase of the largest vaccination program in B.C. history, with millions of people expected to be immunized, she said. There are 4.3 million people age 18 and older eligible for the vaccine.
When health authority call centres opened last month for vaccination registration, lines were jammed, calls were dropped, and there were technical problems. It took a number of days and a sharp increase in call agents to meet demand.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said Monday the new system has been tested for “significant numbers” and it’s worked well.
“Of course we’ll have to see what happens [Tuesday],” he said. “It will be for everyone to judge once it goes live.”
In the Get Vaccinated system, residents will first register with the system, then be contacted when they are eligible to make an appointment. Registration dates are based on age, and people are asked to wait until their age group is eligible to call or register online. Our guide on how to use the new system is here.
B.C.’s age-based plan under the direction of provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is focused on preventing severe illness and death, while a parallel vaccination program is aimed at protecting health-care workers, the most vulnerable populations, and managing outbreaks.
Nearly 770,000 eligible British Columbians — or one in six — have received their first dose of vaccine and more than 87,000 have received a second dose. On Thursday, 41,000 doses were delivered for a new daily record, Dix said.
Pfizer vaccine doses have been coming regularly as scheduled, he said. Moderna “has been slow, but it’s coming.”
Henry said every vaccine delivered makes everyone safer and urged British Columbians to keep up the momentum to get everyone who wants a vaccine their first dose by Canada Day.
A total of 4,040 new confirmed cases were reported in B.C. over the past four days, including a record 1,072 cases Saturday. Island Health had 247 new cases in that time period — 147 from Thursday to Saturday, and 100 from Saturday to Monday.
