Millions to book vaccine appointments online

All eligible adults in B.C. will soon be able to follow an easy, three-step process to register and book their vaccine appointments online, as the province moves to Phase 3 of B.C.’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan ahead of schedule.

“British Columbians faced the countless challenges of this past year with incredible courage,” said Premier John Horgan in a media release. “Today marks a major milestone in our fight against COVID-19, and we ask everyone to wait their turn and follow three steps to help put this pandemic behind us.”

There are three easy steps to register to book your vaccine appointment:

1. Register: First, register when it is your turn and get a confirmation code.
2. Book: Book a vaccine appointment when you get an email, text or phone call telling you you are eligible to book, based on your age.
3. Get vaccinated: Visit a vaccine clinic to get your vaccine dose.

Starting at 9 a.m. (Mountain time), on Tuesday, April 6, people born in 1950 and earlier (71 and older), Indigenous peoples 18 and older, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable may register to book their vaccine appointment through the province’s new ‘Get Vaccinated’ system in one of three ways:

* Online;

* By telephone through a provincial call centre (toll-free) at 1 833 838-2323;

* In-person at the nearest Service BC location.

“We encourage everyone in B.C. to get their vaccine at their first opportunity, when it is their turn,” said Adrian Dix, Minister of Health.

To preserve system capacity, the government asks that you please wait until your age cohort is called to register.

“With more vaccine supply, we are taking an important step into Phase 3 of our immunization plan, and I encourage anyone who has questions to go to the BC Centre for Disease Control website to learn more about the safe and effective vaccines we have here in B.C.,” said Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer. “Every vaccine delivered makes all of us safer – let’s keep our momentum going and get everyone who wants one, their first dose by Canada Day.”

“We have worked diligently and tirelessly to get this online registration, booking and tracking system ready for British Columbians,” said Dr. Penny Ballem, executive lead, B.C.’s COVID-19 immunization program. “I want to thank the regional health authorities for delivering the clinics. Now, with the help of the new online and single phone number system, we’re ready to move onto the next phase of the largest vaccination program in B.C. history.”

To date, nearly 770,000 eligible British Columbians – or one in six – have received their first dose of vaccine, and more than 87,000 have received their second dose. If B.C.’s vaccine supply is delivered as scheduled, everyone in B.C. who is eligible for the vaccine will receive their first dose by the end of June.

When registering online you must provide: 

* First and last name;

* Date of birth;

* Postal code;

* Personal Health Number (on the back of your B.C. driver’s licence, B.C. Services Card or Care Card);

* An email address that gets checked regularly or a phone number that can receive texts.

If you do not have a Personal Health Number, you can register by phone or at a Service BC office.

Information collected for the COVID-19 vaccination program will not be shared with other agencies. People will never be asked for their SIN, driver’s licence number or banking and credit card details.

People who have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, using one of the five regional health authority call centres, will use the online registration and booking tool or the Get Vaccinated call centre when it is time for them to book their second dose.

Details on when people should register for their second dose will be available in May.

B.C.’s COVID-19 immunization plan is based on scientific evidence, expert advice and guidelines from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization and developed by B.C.’s immunization committee and public health leadership committee led by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer. The plan is focused on preventing severe illness and death, protecting the health-care system by immunizing health-care workers and managing outbreaks, the government media release stated.

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