Some head to the United States for a fourth COVID shot not available in BC

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BC plans to expand its COVID booster shot rollout to under 70 in the “autumn”, but some British Columbia residents who don’t want to wait are in Washington to make a second booster unavailable at home. Traveled to

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“Our last vaccination clinic was probably mostly Canadian and about 75 percent Canadian,” said Bill Skinner, a firefighter at the Point Roberts Fire Department, on Tuesday.

He said most of the less than 100 participants in the clinic two weeks ago were middle-aged or older. In Washington, the second booster is available to anyone over the age of 50, but in BC it is eligible if you are over 70 or indigenous, 55 or over, or live in a long-term care facility. ..

“That may be the reason why many of them were Canadian,” he said. “They came from Fraser Health (region),” he said, with another clinic planned for September.

According to the Washington State Health Department website, Shots will be available to non-US residents and will be borne by the US Government.

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“You don’t have to be a US citizen to get the vaccine,” the website says. This means that you don’t need any other documents with your Social Security number or immigration status to get the vaccine. Some vaccine providers may ask for a Social Security number, but you don’t have to give it. “

British Columbia Health Minister Adrian Dix plans to make a second booster or fourth COVID shot available to British Columbia within a few months on Tuesday, with health officials on the new Omicron BA.4 and BA. He said he is investigating the availability of new vaccines tailored to accommodate .5 increasing subvariants here and around the world.

Dr. Eric Kadeski, a family doctor in Vancouver, said he knows patients who are choosing to receive a fourth injection while in the United States. Part of the world. “

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And he said his patients wanted to get a fourth booster rather than waiting for a vaccine tuned for the new submutant.

“They want to be as protected as possible,” he said.

Kadeski has also seen children under the age of five infected with COVID. We also hear from families who chose to travel to the United States to vaccinate preschoolers because children aged 6 months to 5 years can fire in the United States but not in Canada yet. ..

Dix gave details on when and how the third or fourth shot would be announced on an unspecified day.

British Columbia and Alberta are two states west of the Atlantic coast of Canada, limiting the second booster to over 70 years old. The Ontario cutoff is 60. 50 years old in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Quebec offers a second booster for all adults. It is recommended to use the booster 4-5 months after the previous shot to maintain immunity to the infection.

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Last week, Canada’s National Advisory Board on Immunity recommended a second booster shot this fall, ahead of the potential for a new wave of COVID-19.

NACI said the jurisdiction should plan to provide boosters to people at high risk of serious illness due to COVID, regardless of the number of booster doses previously received.

This includes people over the age of 65, residents of long-term care or living facilities, and individuals over the age of 12 with existing medical conditions at high risk of severe COVID-19.

Recommendations also include indigenous peoples whose infections can have disproportionate consequences, adults in radicalized and marginalized communities, and migrant workers, shelters, correctional facilities, and group home settlements.

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He said he would provide recommendations on the types of COVID-19 vaccines offered for this booster dose when evidence of a suitable vaccine became available.

Some British Columbia citizens in their 60s, who took their third shot in late 2021, depending on when the rollout started (early or late fall), should wait approximately two hours for the recommended BC interval between shots. Will be.

Meanwhile, according to British Columbia statistics, COVID doses are 704,236, more than half of which are Pfizer shots, which, if not used before, vary from 20 July to 30 November. It will expire in time.

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