BC Health Minister Adrian Dix believes the age-based system for vaccinations is working in Northern Health despite reports some people in their 70’s or younger are getting in while others are being told to wait.
In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Dix stated Northern Health is ahead of all other health authorities in the province in the 80-84 age category when it comes to appointment bookings.
Dix adds while some people are getting in earlier than anticipated, this result is far from typical.
“There are going to be occasions where people are going to be ahead of where they might have been but those are the acceptions but in a general sense, I think Northern Health is doing a very good job in managing the list.”
“What we are trying to do with the list is to ensure people get an opportunity when their time becomes available to get their appointments and I think that is generally true across the province. About 41,000 people over the age of 90 have already received their immunization.”
BC’s 90 and above population is around 50-thousand Dix stated.
He also mentioned our health authority is taking a much broader approach in terms of inoculating its rural communities.
“You saw this most notably in Prince Rupert but in a lot of other rural communities. If you have a community where 200 or 300 people are getting immunizations it doesn’t necessarily make sense to go back and forth through the age categories. So, Northern Health has the toughest job out of all the other health authorities.”
According to Dix, a record 33-thousand people booked immunization appointments province-wide on Saturday.
The province-wide booking system for vaccination appointments is slated to launch on April 6th.
The goal of the on-line tool is to access more than just appointment bookings.
“So, you’ll have a system where eventually we’ll all be able to access our own information, which is going to be important. Let’s face it, we all know that in the coming year we’ll have access to this information online and in a paper copy as well because there may be circumstances where you might have to show that you have been immunized in the coming year and in any event we want people to have access to their information.”