British Columbia’s call centre to book COVID-19 vaccination appointments has been overwhelmed as people are scrambling to get the shot.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says as of 9:40 a.m. on Monday morning there were 1.7 million calls.
The appointment booking line is only providing reservations for those born in 1931 or earlier and for Indigenous people born in 1946 and earlier. This means about 82,000 are eligible to receive an appointment at this time.
Many of those same people have already received a vaccination in long-term care.
“This is not the time to call in if you are not calling for someone over the age of 90 or an Indigenous person 65 plus. This is not the time to call in,” Dix said.
“We need people to make way and allow those 90 and above, and Indigenous people over the age of 65, to make their reservations.”
Many people have contacted Global News saying they have dialed the line hundreds of times in their health authority and have not been to get through. Others say they were connected for hours and were eventually disconnected without making an appointment.
However, thousands of people have been successful in making an appointment.
The system is not a first-come, first-served system and everyone who is eligible will be able to make a time this week for appointments starting next week.
Fraser Health is the only health authority providing both call-in and online booking systems for this stage of the vaccination rollout.
“We have five days to book appointments. If your appointment is not booked today. There will be time,” Dix said.
“There is an enormous response. It shows the significant support for immunization. We really need this to be a time for those over 90 to book their appointment.”
The province is asking for just one person per eligible British Columbian to call in. This could include the individual themselves or one loved one.
“We ask everyone else to be patient,” Dix said.