B.C. health officials investigating 'suspicious' vaccine records

B.C. Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation Ravi Kahlon has his provincial COVID-19 vaccine card scanned by White Spot restaurant general manager Bill Warwick, before having breakfast in Delta, B.C., on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. (Darryl Dyck / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Health officials in B.C. say they are investigating a series of what they’re calling “suspicious" COVID-19 vaccine records.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Adrian Dix said approximately 1,715 people have tried to submit their vaccination records through B.C.'s provincial immunization registry, without successful uploads.

“Records entered into the registry are reviewed under strict processes to prevent fraud and to ensure people entered into the provincial system have in fact been vaccinated,” Dix said during the news conference.

He also added that any records that are suspected to be fraudulent are reported to police.

Throughout this week, government officials said personally addressed letters will be sent out to those residents who were unsuccessful in submitting their vaccine records, encouraging them to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Dix did note there are a small number of vaccination records that are not able to be entered into the province’s immunization registry due to a variety of issues and errors.

“The provincial health services authority will continue to work with the small number of British Columbians that have been vaccinated and are experiencing difficulty having their record entered into the registry,” Dix explained.

The health minister reminded residents that they are required to be fully vaccinated with a complete series of Health Canada approved vaccines in order to receive a B.C. vaccine card or federal proof of vaccination.

This comes as provincial health officials announced a rise in cases of the Omicron variant during Tuesday’s news conference.

There are now 44 cases of the variant of concern in B.C. with additional cases pending.