It will likely still be weeks or months before most younger adults get their COVID-19 vaccine, but the province is calling on them to register for their shot this week.
The province’s online booking portal already allows anyone to register, but the province had been urging people to wait their turn in order to reduce pressure on the system.
Under its updated timetable, B.C. is asking millennials and Gen-Xers to register on the following schedule:
- Monday, April 19 – Registration opens for people aged 40 and up
- Tuesday, April 20 – Registration opens for people aged 35 and up
- Wednesday, April 21 – Registration opens for people aged 30 and up
- Thursday, April 22 – Registration opens for people aged 25 and up
- Friday, April 23 – Registration opens for people aged 18 and up
Registrants will need their personal health number, their postal code, their date of birth and an email address or phone number that can receive text messages.
Registration is separate from vaccine appointment booking. Under B.C.’s program, people who have registered will be notified when it is their turn to schedule their shot.
The province is aiming to vaccinate everyone in B.C. with their first dose by the end of June.
The province says more than 1.1 million people have registered so far, and more than 400,000 people have booked their shot.
As of Friday, more than 1.2 million people, about 23.2 per cent of B.C.’s population, had received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The province is currently reporting an average of more than 1,000 new cases per day, and the number of people in hospital and intensive care repeatedly set new records last week.