B.C. fall COVID booster invites going out as soon as this week

B.C. will soon begin rolling out Moderna’s Spikevax Bivalent vaccine as booster shots to those 18 and older.

With B.C. health officials expecting the first shipment of doses in the province later this week, invitations for fourth shots — or second boosters in most cases — will start being sent out to eligible British Columbians in the coming days — should those shots get here as planned.

The province is planning to roll the bivalent shots out through pharmacies first, with about 517 pharmacies set to be the first to receive the vaccine when it gets to B.C.

Meanwhile, health authority clinics are scheduled to begin Sept. 19.

The invitations are being sent out based on the time between a person’s last shot, as well as their risk of illness from COVID-19.

COVID vaccines and flu shots

While rollout will ramp up as doses are received, health officials say people getting their COVID vaccine boosters will also be offered an opportunity to get the influenza vaccine at the same time, after that shot is received starting in early October.

B.C.’s first shipment of Moderna’s new mRNA-based vaccine, which is designed to cover the Omicron variant of COVID-19, is expected to be for 109,300 doses.

The shipment scheduled for the week of Sept. 12 shows more than 300,000 are expected. Deliveries are planned into October.

Since the spring, those aged 70 and older, as well as Indigenous Peoples 55 and over, have been receiving their fourth dose.

On Sept. 1, Health Canada approved Moderna’s new Spikevax Bivalent vaccine for use in people 18 and up.

COVID-19 vaccines for kids

As many families get their children vaccinated amid the return to class, it appears some people are calling to book their children’s shots — but also their own in certain cases.

Dr. Anna Wolak, a family doctor and a mother of three, says as soon as her kids were eligible for their next dose, she called and booked it for them without waiting to hear from the province to ensure there wasn’t a lapse in their protection.

“I’d seen on Twitter there were some rumblings about how parents were calling, and this was like 6 p.m. on a Friday evening that they were calling and all of a sudden they were able to book their kids. So, I called the provincial vaccine booking number and I had my kids’ care cards and I said, ‘I wanted them to get their third doses.’ And easy as that, they got their details, and they gave me an appointment.”

She says the appointment was booked for the Monday but on that Friday evening, she went online and moved their appointment to Saturday morning after easily finding availability.

However, she suspects the booking system is still dealing with some issues. Wolak says she got an invitation to book her children’s vaccines shortly after they got their booster.

“With my kids, I think an hour after they got their shot … I got their invitation and then five minutes later I got a ‘Thank you for getting their COVID-19 shot.’ There’s something going on there.”

I called on Friday evening, booked them in for Saturday morning. An hour after their shot, got the text inviting them for their shots. 15 mins later got their text with “after your Covid 19 shot” instructions. It’s like one hand isn’t talking to the other.

— Dr. Anna Wolak (@drawolak) August 30, 2022

The Ministry of Health says as of August 21, 2022, just more than 58 per cent of children aged five to 11 in B.C. had received a first dose, while 46.2 per cent in the same demographic had gotten a second.

Wolak, who has gotten her fourth dose, says taking the initiative to get people in your household boosted will help protect others in their social circles, including teachers, other students, and grandparents.

“My messaging is not to wait, especially with school starting. There’s a lot of mixed messaging going out as well where there are talks about needing to wait for the fall for the booster, this only applies to adults — the waiting for the bivalent booster. The bivalent booster has not yet been approved for children, so anybody under the age of 18 who is six months or more from their second or third doses, for the 12-17-year-olds, if you are six months away from your previous vaccine, go and book an appointment and get boosted.”

Related articles: 

• Canada approves Moderna’s Omicron COVID vaccine

• B.C. second COVID booster shots to open to 12+ this fall

• Anxiety over second booster waits, as some in B.C. use U.S. option to get fourth shot

Wolak understands some may be hesitant. She says you can wait and see what the province says about the bivalent vaccine before making your decision.

“But if we’re talking that it will be quite a significant wait that brings us significantly into fall, then there’s no point in waiting for the Omicron-specific vaccine because we are seeing that numbers are starting to rise.”

The provincial government is recommending people wait for an invitation.

“However, if people feel they have unique circumstances and want to receive their second booster now, they can contact the call centre, provided it has been at least six months since their first booster,” it added in a statement to CityNews.

People are encouraged to reach out to their doctor or other medical health professional if they have questions about vaccination.

If you’re looking to book an appointment, you can call Immunize BC at 1.833.838.2323.

With files from Martin MacMahon