(CFJC Today/File photo).

By Aaron Schulze

COVID-19

B.C. government drops second dose interval to 28 days

Aug 9, 2021 | 2:21 PM

KAMLOOPS — The B.C. government officially reduced the interval between a first and second dose of COVID-19 vaccine from 49 days to 28.

Health Minister Adrian Dix stated on Monday (Aug. 9) that it will take up to a few days for the nearly 170,000 eligible residents to get their invitations to book a second dose, as around 5,000 invitations will be sent per hour. As of publication, 70.3 per cent of eligible British Columbians 12 and older have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said there’s probably an advantage for residents to wait six to 10 weeks between their first and second doses if they can, but the province wants to balance the risk of people getting COVID-19 in the meantime.

“We know there’s a balancing between the virus transmission rates and waiting to get a second dose,” Henry said. “We know [four weeks] is the minimum that we can get people with a higher protection [rate] sooner.”

As of now, Henry said there’s no indication that young people who wait four weeks between first and second doses will need a third booster shot. However, there might be a case for providing a third dose to some people whose immune systems didn’t respond well to doses one and two.

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The province-wide change of the 49-day interval comes nearly two weeks after residents in the Central Okanagan were allowed to book an appointment for their second dose after 28 days.