COVID-19: Vaccine bookings open to all B.C. adults Sunday; Surrey adds walk-in clinics

British Columbia is marking another milestone in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout: As of 7 p.m. Sunday, everyone aged 18 and over will be eligible to book their jab.

Anyone looking to book will need to register with the province.

This comes as efforts also ramp up to increase the pace of vaccinations in key hotspots.

In Surrey, where vaccination rates have lagged in some neighbourhoods, the city and province are partnering to host four walk-in clinics offering Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

The community clinics will be open to anyone aged 18 and older who is a Surrey resident, and are intended to boost the speed of the vaccine rollout already underway through booked appointments and at gurdwaras and mosques.

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To avoid the long lines and confusion associated with some previous walk-in clinic efforts in the Fraser Health region, the first 1,000 people to arrive at each site will get a wristband guaranteeing them a dose.

“These neighbourhood clinics play an important role in our strategy to immunize as many people as quickly as possible,” Fraser Health president and CEO Dr. Victoria Lee said in a media release.

“It will protect our health system, keep your business open and help us get to community immunity.”

The clinics will be at the following times and locations:

• Monday, May 17
  Bear Creek Park, 13750 88 Ave.
  Hours: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (or until 1,000 vaccine doses are administered)
• Tuesday, May 18:
  Bear Creek Park, 13750 88 Ave.
  Hours: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (or until 1,000 vaccine doses are administered)
• Saturday, May 22:
  Surrey Sport and Leisure, 16555 Fraser Highway, #100
  Hours: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (or until 1,000 vaccine doses are administered)
• Sunday, May 23:
  Surrey Sport and Leisure, 16555 Fraser Highway, #100
  Hours: 8 a.m. – 7 p.m. (or until 1,000 vaccine doses are administered)

3:47 Educating Surrey’s Sikh community with COVID-19 Gurdwara Campaign

Clinics will be checking identification to ensure attendees are Surrey residents. Staff will also be on site to help people register and book an appointment at other clinics, if necessary.

As of Friday, more than 2.26 million British Columbians — more than 44 per cent of B.C.’s population — had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

This week, officials are expected to announce details of a plan to vaccinate the province’s 12- to 17-year-olds.