By Madeline Baker, Times-Chronicle

The Province will be providing a second round of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for seniors and immunocompromised people.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia made the announcement as part of the government’s April 5 COVID-19 update, where she explained the rationale for offering a second booster shot along with some encouraging numbers about hospitalizations related to the virus. 

According to Henry, the immune protection provided to seniors over 80 years of age by their first booster shot has begun to wane. With the newest Omicron strain proving to be more infectious than the last, this creates a unique risk for a group that is already the most vulnerable. 

Henry said that a second dose of the booster “will provide a rapid increase in antibodies … and will provide spring protection as we are able to get back to more activities in the community.”

Rates of COVID-19 related hospitalization, transmission, and death in the province currently show a downward trend that has begun to level off, which Henry said is positive both for the general public and for health care workers who have shown high levels of burnout throughout the pandemic. The province hopes that a second booster shot for seniors will continue that trend even as restrictions continue to be loosened throughout B.C. communities. 

Henry also took the opportunity to encourage anyone who has received two doses of the vaccine but not a booster to do so now, as “we’re still in a transition phase in this pandemic, and we still have a lot of uncertainty about what’s coming next.” 

All seniors aged 70 and over will be eligible for the second booster shot, as will Indigenous seniors aged 55 and over, and all residents of long-term care and assisted living facilities. People in the “clinically extremely vulnerable” classification who have received three full vaccine doses will now be eligible for their first booster.

Along with news of the second booster for seniors, Henry also provided a summary of the restrictions that have been lifted as of April 5: vaccine cards are no longer legally required and are left to business discretion, the COVID-19 safety measures that were reinstated for businesses due to the Omicron variant have been lowered to communicable disease measures, and post-secondary residences no longer require residents to be vaccinated.

“We are now at a time when we can progress from legally-enforceable community requirements to a place of collectively being able to manage this together,” said Henry. 

She encouraged the public to “learn to live with COVID-19 better” by continuing good habits like handwashing, the use of masks for those who are comfortable wearing them, and general respect for the comfort levels of others. 

As of Tuesday, 93.5 per cent (4,333,166) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 91.1 per cent (4,222,894) received their second dose and 57.8 per cent (2,677,473) have received a third dose.

B.C. is reporting 258 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 357,758 cases in the province.

The new cases include:

  • Fraser Health: 76
  • Vancouver Coastal Health: 37
  • Interior Health: 85
  • Northern Health: 11
  • Island Health: 49

There are 334 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19 and 35 are in intensive care.