Four days ahead of schedule, B.C. will allow those 85 years old and up to call and book their COVID-19 immunization appointment.
Adrian Dix, B.C.’s Health Minister, said phone lines will officially accept appointments for those seniors at noon on March 11th.
Originally, the start date for the age group to get vaccinated was Monday, March 15th.
The move will make another 75,000 British Columbians eligible for appointments.
Dix said, as of Wednesday, 39,163 appointments have been booked, with 5,972 in Interior Health.
A total of 10 clinics are set up in the East Kootenay, with one in Cranbrook, Creston, Elkford, Fernie, Golden and Sparwood, and three in Invermere.
Residents are asked to refrain from calling until their age group becomes eligible.
Those calling must also provide some personal information to book their appointment:
- legal name
- date of birth
- postal code
- personal health number (PHN) from the back of B.C. driver’s licences or BC services cards, and
- current contact information; including a regularly monitored email address or phone number.
More: Interior Health to open nearly 50 COVID-19 vaccine clinics (Mar 7, 2021)
More: Call centres see massive demand as COVID-19 vaccine appointments open (Mar 8, 2021)
More: Local COVID-19 vaccination clinics preparing to open (Mar 9, 2021)
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
Call centres closed today at 7pm adding another 9,384 bookings in the province bringing us to 39,163 total.
Today’s daily (and total) bookings by Health Authority:
VIHA – 944 (6,145)
FHA – 3,349 (16,487)
IHA – 767 (5,972)
VCHA – 3,263 (7,699)
NHA – 1,061 (2,860)— Adrian Dix (@adriandix) March 11, 2021