B.C. to offer COVID-19 boosters for kids ages 12 to 17

Teens and pre-teens who have waited more than six months after their second COVID-19 vaccine are now eligible for a booster shot in British Columbia.

Following guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), B.C. has updated it’s own guidance to expand the eligibility.

Invites will start going out this week to anyone between 12 and 17 years old who received a second dose at least six months ago, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry confirmed Tuesday.

“We do, of course, continue to strongly recommend that anybody who has an underlying condition that puts them at risk does get their booster dose,” the provincial health officer said in a pandemic briefing.

“We see it in the hospitalization data that it’s important for protection not only against infection, even from overcrowding, but also really important for longer term protection against severe illness.”

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Starting later this week, people ages 12 to 17 who are clinically extremely vulnerable and have immunocompromising conditions will be offered a third dose as part of their primary series, and a fourth booster dose six months after that.

2:30 Comparing B.C. hospitalizations from Omicron and Delta variants

For other people in that age group, NACI has recommended that a booster dose be provided to those at high risk for a number of severe illness, including people with diabetes or a number of other conditions that elevate risk.

There is no recommendation, however, for the general population in this age to get the booster, but B.C. will make the option available.

“In NACI’s opinion, it is a more optional risk-benefit analysis that you do yourself,” Henry explained.

Currently, 92.7 per cent of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 90.1 per cent have received their second dose.