File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

COVID-19

Vaccine eligibility to open for all British Columbians 18 and older as of Sunday evening

May 14, 2021 | 2:13 PM

KAMLOOPS — All adults in British Columbia will be eligible to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments as of Sunday (May 16).

The lower age limit for booking is dropping rapidly — from 25 as of Friday at 7:00 p.m. to 20 as of Saturday at 7:00 p.m. and 18 as of 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Even as eligibility opens up, health officials across the province are still pushing residents to register with the province to receive booking notifications.

“It’s important that we don’t slow down now; we know that we still have a ways to go,” said Karen Bloemink, Interior Health (IH) interim vice-president of pandemic response, in a media briefing Friday. “We are very focused on getting those younger populations in to become registered, so we can get them then subsequently booked in to appointments.”

IH says it has recently surpassed 50 per cent of eligible residents who have been given a first dose of vaccine.

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Bloemink notes once a resident is told they can book an appointment, it won’t be long before they are getting their dose.

“We are aiming to have availability in our clinics within two weeks of an invite going out,” Bloemink said. “We are building out capacity based on that target and we are finding that we have been able to achieve that in all of our communities.”

The Ministry of Health notes it is still working on a regime for vaccinating those aged 12 to 17.