VANCOUVER -- New COVID-19 vaccination centres have been opening through the week, but the rate of vaccinations in British Columbia is not keeping up with supply. There are many vacant appointments prompting two health authorities to announce they have “accelerated the booking schedule.”

According to data from Health Canada on Wednesday, 792,620 coronavirus vaccine doses had been delivered to B.C., but the province’s own data on Saturday showed only 582,634 doses administered.

In the legislature, the official opposition hammered the NDP government on the 200,000 dose gap, to which the health minister offered a blistering response.

“The idea that 105,000 doses would arrive on Monday and they'd be immediately delivered — which seems to be the assertion of the member — is, shall I say, not consistent with reality,” said Adrian Dix during question period on Thursday.

But later that day, Dix had said the new record for daily immunizations was 28,037 doses. It’s a considerable ramp-up, but the vaccines are coming in even faster now — a “glut” that’s at least double what health officials had expected. 

The latest update from the government of Canada shows that during the week of Mar. 29, B.C. will receive 162,630 doses of the Pfizer Biotech vaccine and 203,800 doses of Astrazeneca, for a weekly total of 366,430. The province would have to administer about 52,000 doses per day for the whole week just to use that supply, not to mention doses still available from the last shipment.

The province’s immunization leader, Dr. Penny Ballem, has said they want to keep three days worth of doses on hand in the event of supply issues, but there appear to be many times that number on hand.

Many vaccination appointments vacant

On Friday morning, CTV News asked both the lower mainland health authorities for data on the vacancy rate for vaccine appointment bookings.

Vancouver Coastal Health immediately replied that the ministry of health would provide the information, but the ministry did not offer an answer.

Instead, Vancouver Coastal Health released an “invitation” reminding eligible seniors that they’re able to book appointments.

On Sunday, both health authorities “accelerated the call-in schedule” to allow seniors 73 and older to book, with indigenous people 55 and older are now eligible. 

Fraser Health didn’t provide any data to CTV News Vancouver, instead offering a vague statement on appointments.

“Across the Fraser Health region, we can accommodate thousands of immunizations each day,” wrote a spokesperson. “The vast majority of our available appointments are filled, with all appointments booked on many days.”

As the only health authority to allow online bookings, it’s possible to see how many appointments are available in Fraser Health. As of Sunday morning, while many vaccination centres were fully booked, more than 11,000 appointments were available throughout the region. Based on the slots listed, it appears the health authority is booking one week in advance with operating hours as late as 7PM in some locations.

Black hole of data in B.C.

The complete absence of any vaccine appointment statistics in Metro Vancouver is in stark contrast to Canada’s biggest city.

On Friday, Toronto mayor John Tory revealed there are 30,000 available vaccine appointments in his city next week due to ramped up capacity.

“In our original three clinics we were previously able to vaccinate 1,350 per day,” he said. “Starting Monday we will be able to vaccinate 6,300 people per day.” https://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-lowers-age-threshold-for-covid-19-vaccines-as-it-works-to-fill-30k-available-appointments-1.5363488

His comments came on the same day the city’s biggest vaccination clinic had filled only two-thirds of available spots. Of 1,170 appointments at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Friday, just 791 were taken by midday.

In B.C., while the overall vaccinations are updated on the BCCDC dashboard, the daily number is not. 

How many times vaccinators sat without a patient to vaccinate during an appointment slot – one that could have offered another person immunity from an illness rising in prevalence – is a mystery.