Despite a rocky opening day, the BC Government announced their booking system is four days ahead of schedule, and seniors age 85 and up will be able to book vaccination appointments today.
Beginning today at noon on Thursday, BC Health Authority call centres are ready to book the next age cohort of BC seniors starting — those born in 1936 or earlier (85+).
Indigenous seniors ages 65+ can continue to book.
“We’re allowing people to get their appointments sooner,” BC Health Minister Adrian Dix said. “This reflects that, for the most part, seniors over 90 have already booked their appointments.
Health officials originally planned to make vaccine appointments available to seniors age 85 to 89 starting this Monday, March 15th.
Now four days ahead of schedule, health authority call centres are ready to book the next age cohort of BC seniors starting tomorrow, Mar 11, at noon – those born in 1936 or earlier (85+). They won’t have to wait until Monday.
Indigenous seniors ages 65+ can continue to book. pic.twitter.com/qEkhRHYaDC
— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) March 11, 2021
The phone lines to book a COVID-19 vaccination for the general public opened on Monday morning with some frustrations after many reported not being able to get through.
Since then, Telus, the contractor for the phone lines, apologized for the problems and quickly rectified them.
According to the province, call centres across the province received nearly two million calls within the first two hours of operation, and a whopping 1.4 million of those came in within the first 90 minutes.
There are about 47,000 British Columbians over the age of 90 and 35,000 Indigenous peoples above the age of 65.
As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, 39,163 were booked for their vaccine across the province.
Total bookings by Health Authority:
- VIHA – 6,145
- FHA – 16,487
- IHA – 5,972
- VCHA – 7,699
- NHA – 2,860
Residents who become eligible don’t lose eligibility, and seniors over 90 can book their immunization appointment anytime.
Clinic locations across Victoria are ready to administer vaccinations starting this Monday, March 15th, and people can book their appointment by calling 1-833-348-4787.
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