Starting today people aged 55 to 65 living in the Lower Mainland can book a vaccine but people can expect delays and waitlists to book a jab.
Article content
Starting today people aged 55 to 65 living in the Lower Mainland can book an AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine, but so far the rollout has not gone smoothly.
Frustrated folks in the region faced busy phone signals at pharmacies, jammed websites, waitlists, and at least one pharmacy chain saying it was all booked up.
On Tuesday night, a day before the bookings opened for this category, London Drugs announced on Twitter that due to an “overwhelming response,” all vaccine appointments had been booked at the three London Drugs pharmacies selected by the B.C. government to offer the vaccine.
The company asked people not to call the pharmacies so they can prepare for the “fully booked” appointments.
Those who felt confused or daunted by the process took to social media to complain about the booking system. Some were upset about London Drugs booking on Tuesday ahead of the Wednesday start, while others despaired over not being able to get a booking because the pharmacy had already run out of AstraZeneca.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
There are dozens of pharmacies around the region offering the jab. The B.C. Pharmacy Association website has a list of pharmacies offering the vaccine, which will be updated regularly in the coming weeks.
However, callers to several pharmacies on the list were met with a busy signal Wednesday morning, indicating a demand for the vaccine.
The 2019 population data for those aged 55 to 65 in the Lower Mainland show there are 275,457 people in that age category in the Fraser Health Authority and 176,431 in Vancouver Coastal.
Those trying for an appointment on the North Shore faced difficulties. For instance, Davies Prescription Pharmacy, which is one of two North Shore pharmacies on the vaccination list, said they were out of a very limited supply of AstraZeneca vaccine on Wednesday morning, while the other one on the list is a London Drugs, which is booked. There is no pharmacy listed for West Vancouver.
The Costco Pharmacy in Abbotsford said they haven’t received any AstraZeneca yet and directed people to add their name to a waitlist at costco.ca. Rexall pharmacies also has a waitlist.
In an emailed statement, Loblaw said select Shoppers Drug Marts in the Lower Mainland would be administering the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca Thursday and Friday for British Columbia residents, 55 to 65 years of age. The company said patients are encouraged to contact their local participating pharmacy.
However, the Loblaw spokesperson did not respond to questions about the difficulty patients were having contacting their local pharmacies.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The Ministry of Health has been contacted to address the situation.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Interim leader of the Official Opposition Shirley Bond and MLA Renee Merrifield, the B.C. Liberal critic for health, released a joint statement Wednesday, saying the NDP’s “constant bungling” is creating confusion and concern over vaccinations.
The government announced Tuesday that those in the age 55 to 65 category could start booking vaccines, but many pharmacies were overwhelmed or didn’t know they were on the vaccination list, they said.
“For weeks we have consistently been asking John Horgan to include community pharmacies as part of the rollout and to have a clearly laid out plan. That didn’t happen and British Columbians deserve better. Yesterday was just another example of incompetence from a government that cannot manage to deliver on critical programs like the vaccination rollout, they said.
“Now the 55 to 65 age cohort in the Lower Mainland is left wondering what happened after feeling a sense of hope about the possibility of being vaccinated. We can certainly understand how people are feeling frustration and anger about the latest problems with the vaccination rollout.”
Bond and Merrifield said there needs to be a provincial booking system.
Shortly before 1 p.m., Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry released a statement insisting that the age-based system of vaccine delivery is working.
They said the vaccine is available to anyone 73 and over, Indigenous peoples over 18 and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable. In a few week, they said those 65 and over can book.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Dix and Henry said vaccine doses are on the way and everyone who is eligible and who wants a vaccine will get one, ahead of schedule and before Canada Day.
“We must all be patient and continue to follow the guidelines that are keeping us all as safe and healthy as possible, and to use all of the layers of protection that we can to keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities safe until we can all be fully vaccinated from COVID-19,” they said.
London Drugs’ announcement caused many social media users to express frustration about how people could book on Tuesday when they were told by government that bookings opened on Wednesday.
The company apologized in a statement on Facebook Wednesday.
“We sincerely apologize for any confusion regarding the vaccine bookings for the 55-65 age group that the BC government announced yesterday,” the statement read.
London Drugs said as soon as the news was public all of its Lower Mainland stores became inundated with customers wanting to book appointments.
“Our pharmacies that were selected immediately began taking down eligible patient information aged 55 to 65 for appointments. There was no requirement we were aware of in our information by government to wait to take appointments, only that vaccines would be made available to us the morning of March 31.”
London Drugs said its three designated vaccination sites in Metro Vancouver have received limited allocations of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
“As soon as more supply becomes available, we will open up our online booking similarly to what we would do with routine flu vaccinations. We are ready to vaccinate as many people as possible and expect more information on increased allotment will be coming in the days ahead.”
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
The province decided to bump up its age-based immunization plan for AstraZeneca shots after concerns about rare blood clots prompted the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to pause the use of the vaccine for anyone under 55.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says in a news release that the vaccine remains highly effective and its benefits for those over 55 far outweigh the risks of COVID-19 infection.
More than 99,000 B.C. residents have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic and infections have surged across the province in recent weeks, with 840 new cases reported Tuesday.
Those going to get a vaccine will be required to bring their Personal Health Number, located on your CareCard or driver’s license.
The AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine is currently not available in pharmacies in the Northern, Interior, and Vancouver Island health authorities at this time.
-with files from The Canadian Press and Nathan Griffiths
Get the latest COVID-19 news delivered to your inbox weeknights at 7 p.m. by subscribing to our newsletter here.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiZWh0dHBzOi8vdmFuY291dmVyc3VuLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvY292aWQtMTktbG9uZG9uLWRydWdzLWFsbC1ib29rZWQtdXAtZm9yLXZhY2NpbmUtYXBwb2ludG1lbnRz0gGTAWh0dHBzOi8vdmFuY291dmVyc3VuLmNvbS9uZXdzL2xvY2FsLW5ld3MvY292aWQtMTktbG9uZG9uLWRydWdzLWFsbC1ib29rZWQtdXAtZm9yLXZhY2NpbmUtYXBwb2ludG1lbnRzL3djbS8yMWZhNDZmZS01OGExLTQ4ZmQtODMxYi1mZTNhNzkzZjhhMzQvYW1wLw?oc=5
2021-03-31 20:03:32Z
52781477121024
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar