B.C. announces plan to roll out a 2nd COVID-19 booster to some as hospitalizations rise

B.C. has unveiled its plan to roll out a second COVID-19 booster vaccine to those are more vulnerable to the disease.

Health officials announced the plan during a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday, hours after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said provinces should prepare to offer more boosters in the coming weeks. 

NACI said Tuesday people over the age of 80 and people in long-term care should be prioritized. The committee also strongly recommended a second booster for those aged 70 to 79 years of age.

"The two most important factors that we know … are age and vaccination status," Dr. Bonnie Henry said during the announcement Tuesday. "We have no control over our age, but we can control our vaccination status and reduce our risk."

In B.C., a second booster will be offered this spring to residents of long-term care, seniors in the community aged 70 and older and Indigenous people aged 55 and older. Officials explained some of those people were first offered a booster dose last fall, meaning it's been about six months since they got their last vaccine dose.

Health officials said the latest data shows people aged 80 and older continue to be the most at-risk of hospitalization from COVID-19. They also said data shows getting a booster dose significantly reduces that risk.

While Henry said the province's hospitalization rate has flattened, she acknowledged there has been a "slight increase in the last few weeks."

On Monday, Health Minister Dix said the government would like more people to get their third COVID-19 shot as the current numbers show almost 58 per cent of eligible people 12 and older have received their booster.

Some British Columbians may have already received a fourth vaccine dose if they were deemed clinically extremely vulnerable earlier in the pandemic. Officials previously explained that, for some, it take three doses to make up an effective "primary dose series," meaning a fourth shot would be considered their first booster.

Health officials said invitations will continue to be sent out to those individuals to get that fourth dose, six months after they received their third. 

NACI said Tuesday it's still studying whether a second booster shot is necessary for younger adults and adolescents. For now, Henry said, it's not expected that other age groups will be offered a spring booster.

That could change later on, however.

"We don't know yet what's going to happen when we come up to late summer, early fall when expect to be back in respiratory season and we're looking at the different scenarios that could happen," Henry said.

"So it could be that we'll need maybe an annual booster, maybe it will just be for people who are most at risk … for the short term the spring boost is for those who need it most."