B.C. will expand its eligibility list for the H1N1 vaccine starting Monday, to include healthy children, seniors with chronic health conditions and more health care workers.
The province has finally received more vaccine and provincial medical health officer Dr. Perry Kendall says the serum, along with the federal government's decision to approve the unadjuvanted form of the vaccine, will allow health officials to include more people in the vaccination campaign.
Pregnant women, children six months to five years, First Nations and residents of remote areas and front-line health care workers were given priority in the first weeks of the program.
As of next week, people 65 years and over who suffer from chronic health conditions will be eligible for vaccinations, along with healthy children aged five to 18, first responders and remaining health care workers.
Kendall says the province won't have enough vaccine for all of the newly-eligible residents immediately, so people should call ahead and book appointments at clinics or their doctor's office.
To date, more than 900,000 B.C. residents have been vaccinated against the pandemic virus.
