VANCOUVER – COVID-19 booster injections will be available for Britons aged 12 and over from this autumn.
Dr. Penny Ballem, leader of BC’s COVID-19 immunization plan, said Friday that invitations will begin coming out Monday for the most vulnerable 65 and older.
The advantage of receiving the vaccine this fall is that the new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are expected to be more tailored to combat Omicron variants, he said.
Nearly 94 percent of BC residents have had their first injection, 91.2 percent have had a second, but only 59.5 have had their booster.
He said 1.3 million people in BC have not yet received their first reinforcement and should receive it immediately.
For those who have had their third injection, Ballem said the risk will be higher in the fall when COVID-19 circulates with other respiratory diseases.
“Autumn is the best time to take your next chance.”
However, Ballem said people who feel they need their second booster can now contact health authorities and will receive their vaccine.
To date, BC has been offering second booster injections for people aged 70 and over and indigenous people aged 55 or over.
Ballem said officials also expect to get approval in late July to vaccinate children ages six months to four, but that still needs regulatory approval.
Acting provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie said the latest wave of the Omicron BA.5 variant is increasing hospitalizations.
Lavoie said vaccine manufacturers have learned a lot about adapting to variants and developments are promising.
“What’s important to know now is that manufacturers have developed vaccines that will better suit Omicron, which is great news,” he said.
“As the virus moves further away from the vaccine we have now, we need to have a vaccine that is closely related to what is circulating to be more effective.”
The most recent update from the BC Center for Disease Control reports 765 cases of COVID-19 for the week of June 26 to July 2, compared to 620 the previous week.
It also says there were 172 hospital admissions for COVID-19 during the week of June 26 to July 2, while there were 209 admissions the previous week.
The BCCDC says there were 24 COVID-19-related deaths last week compared to 33 deaths from June 19-25.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2022.