COVID-19 Vaccination Update

LATEST UPDATE – March 3, 2021

In an effort to keep our community partners connected, we are providing you with regular COVID-19 updates. 

Ministry of Health update

In yesterday’s joint statement on B.C.’s COVID-19 response, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, reported 438 new cases. Due to challenges with the data system during the past week, there are an additional 254 cases during that time period. The data system problem is now resolved.

The total number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in B.C. now stands at 81,367 since the start of the pandemic. Of the new cases, 137 people were in the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) region.

Across the province, there were two new COVID-19 related deaths, while 243 people are currently hospitalized, with 63 of these cases receiving treatment in ICU/critical care. The total number of individuals who have passed away due to COVID-19 is 1,365. There are now 4,679 active cases of COVID-19 across B.C. currently.

There have been 22 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 182 cases. Of the total cases, eight cases are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 159 cases of the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant and 23 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant.

Vaccination update

Since the start of immunizations, 283,182 vaccinations have been delivered in B.C. (not including today), with 86,537 of those being a second dose.

Dr. Henry said the addition of the newly approved AstraZeneca-Serum Institute of India viral vector vaccine also means we can look at accelerating availability of vaccine for essential workers, including for first responders and those who are unable to work from home.

While this is encouraging news for everyone, we are not yet at that important level of protection that we need to be at to put aside the public health restrictions. We have to have the confidence that we are slowing the spread in a sustained way, which means we need to continue to stay committed to using our layers of protection, to stay small and stay local right now.

More information and immunization data is available through this page: BCCDC.

VCH’s implementation of Phase 2 of B.C.’s Immunization – a reminder

On Monday, March 8, people can book their appointment by age group by calling 1-877-587-5767. The appointment booking line is toll-free and will operate seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

To facilitate access to as many eligible seniors and Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) people as possible, VCH invites people in the following age groups to call the appointment booking phone line from the dates indicated below:

Richmond, Vancouver, North Vancouver and West Vancouver

Call Starting March 8: (Vaccinations starting March 15)

Year of birth in or before 1931 (seniors 90 years of age and older); year of birth in or before 1956 for Indigenous people (65 years of age and older)

Call Starting March 15: (Vaccinations starting March 22)

Year of birth in or before 1936 (seniors 85 years of age and older); year of birth in or before 1956 for Indigenous people (65 years of age and older)

Call Starting March 22: (Vaccinations starting March 29)

Year of birth in or before 1941 (seniors 80 years of age and older); year of birth in or before 1956 for Indigenous people (65 years of age and older)

Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Whistler, Squamish and Pemberton

Call Starting March 8: (Vaccinations starting March 15)

Year of birth in or before 1941 (seniors 80 years of age and older); year of birth in or before 1956 for Indigenous people (65 years of age and older)

Before calling the phone line, residents are asked to have a pen and paper, their personal health number, full name, date of birth, postal code and a phone number available.

VCH’s implementation of Phase 2 of B.C.’s Immunization Plan – spread the word

VCH is appealing to family members, friends, neighbours and social services agencies to help reach eligible seniors and Indigenous people in the community. Please share the COVID-19 vaccination information with people 80 years of age and older, or Indigenous (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) people 65 years of age and older and Elders, to help them plan ahead for when the appointment booking phone line opens, according to age group. We encourage you to share the resources online (links below) or to print and distribute as needed to eligible seniors, their families and supports in your community and networks. Below are the current resources available, and more resources will be added to our website in additional languages.

The resource toolkit includes:

• Information Bulletin:

[English] | [Arabic] | [ASL] | [Chinese – simplified] | [Chinese – Traditional]| [Farsi] | [French] | [Korean] | [Spanish] | [Tagalog] | [Vietnamese]

• Website Information and Q & A:

[English] | [Arabic] | [Chinese – Simplified] | [Chinese – Traditional]| [French] | [Korean] | [Punjabi] | [Spanish] | [Vietnamese]

• Information Poster:

[English] | [Arabic] | [ASL] | [Chinese – Simplified] | [Chinese – Traditional]| [Farsi] | [French] | [Korean] | [Punjabi] | [Spanish] | [Tagalog] | [Vietnamese]

• Information for Community Partners:

[English] | [Arabic] | [ASL] | [Chinese – Simplified] | [Chinese – Traditional]| [Farsi] | [French] | [Korean] | [Punjabi] | [Spanish] | [Tagalog] | [Vietnamese]

Thank you for your support and dedication to keeping seniors in our communities healthy and well as we move into this next phase of immunizations.

For reference, below is important contact information related to COVID-19 vaccine.

• If you are eligible to book a vaccine appointment at VCH: call 1-877-587-5767. This toll free line is only for booking vaccine appointments.
• If you have a clinical question: first speak with your family doctor or nurse practitioner, or call 811 for nursing advice prior to booking your appointment.
• For questions about the COVID-19 vaccine, call 1-888-COVID19 (1.888.268.4319) or visit gov.bc.ca/covid19.
• For information on VCH vaccination clinics: vch.ca.

Testing

Anyone in the VCH region with cold, influenza or COVID-19-like symptoms, however mild, can now be assessed for and get a COVID-19 test. Contact your physician or nurse practitioner’s office, or a local community collection centre to arrange for a test. Phone numbers and locations of collection centres can be found by visiting: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/testing or by calling 8-1-1. For more information and latest updates on COVID-19, follow the BC Centre for Disease Control on Twitter @CDCofBC or visit the website: http://www.bccdc.ca/.

Other resources

To find the Provincial Health Officer’s orders, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

To see a map of COVID-19 cases by local health area, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data

For a listing of the community exposure events, go to: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures

For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/

For community engagement opportunities at VCH, see: http://cean.vch.ca/members/current-opportunities/

VCH Daily COVID-19 Update Mar. 3