COVID 19 Update March 16, 2021
Statement from Dr Penny Ballem - Executive Lead, Immunize BC
We have made very good progress since last Monday (March 8) with our partners at the TELUS Call Centre booking seniors over 85 for their vaccine appointments.
We are now ready to book the next group – seniors between 80 and 84 years of age. This group will now be booking a week ahead of schedule. We estimate that there are approximately 105,000 seniors in this age category who have not yet been vaccinated.
Anticipating the enthusiasm of all those in this age group who want an appointment for their vaccine is important - the TELUS Call Centre is ready, but to manage the volume we are going to ask our seniors to work with us and space out their calls for appointments.
Starting at noon on Monday, March 15, we are now going to invite seniors to call in the following groups on the days of the week:
- Monday: age 84 and over
- Tuesday: age 83 and over
- Wednesday: age 82 and over
- Thursday: age 81 and over
- Friday: age 80 and over
- Friday: age 80 and over
This plan will assist in reducing wait times and allow the oldest seniors in this 80-84-year-old age group to go first.
We also ask that family and friends of seniors in these age groups have only one designated family member or support person call to book appointments for people in this age group.
The call centres tend to be busiest in the mornings, so try calling in the late afternoon or evening.
There are thousands of vaccine appointments for British Columbians in this age group waiting to be booked - everyone who wants to book an appointment will be able to do so.
This is the largest vaccination program in B.C. history and there will be bumps along the way. We’ll continue to work through these challenges to make sure everyone in B.C. will have the opportunity to be vaccinated by this summer.
Call centres for each Health Authority are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. PDT seven days a week. Phone numbers and booking details are available at www.gov.bc.ca/bcseniorsfirst
Chandler Grieve