COVID-19 booster bookings ramping up, Okanagan pharmacies report

Okanagan pharmacies are seeing a jump in bookings for COVID-19 booster doses.

The province moved last week to speed up eligibility for the shots, as the Omicron variant of concern continues to spread.

As of Friday, all adults in B.C. will be invited to get a third vaccination roughly six months after their second.

Todd Dew, of Hogarth’s Clinic Pharmacy in Vernon, said when those new booking invitations went out this week their appointment schedule quickly filled up.

Dew said that wasn’t always the case in December.

“We had spaces available that went unfilled. We could have done more,” said Dew.

“We had started with a fairly easy schedule for our pharmacists to be able to do all the proper documentation….but we did have appointments available. We could have taken more people. We did appreciate the easing into it, though, because it was a very steep learning curve for our staff.”

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Meanwhile, by late last month, others, who hadn’t been contacted by the province yet to book, were inquiring about when they could get a third dose.

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“We got lots of telephone calls near the end of December: ‘Oh gosh it has been six months and I haven’t gotten my invitation yet.’ Those people likely are getting that invitation this week. There was a bunch that were due,” said Dew

Hogarth’s Clinic Pharmacy is offering 48 appointments a day to meet that demand.

Across town, the North End Pharmacy is also finding booster bookings have ramped up compared to when it started dispensing boosters in early December.

“Demand is picking up probably for a few reasons. One, of course, the Omicron variant and the concerns arising from that. People are probably trying to do what they can…. to try to lower/manage their risk,” said North End Pharmacy owner Gerard Kampman.

“But, also the booking system is opening up. Eligibility has been greatly enhanced.”

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Despite the increased demand, in Vernon, it seems once you do get that invitation to book a booster shot, finding an open appointment isn’t hard.

One pharmacy reported most people were able to book an appointment for the week they got their booking invitation.

The other pharmacy said it was booking about a week out.

The province is aiming to be able to provide booster doses to most people within two weeks of getting their booking invitation.

— with files from Kristen Robinson