AstraZeneca shots go to priority workers in B.C.

British Columbia's initial shipment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be used to inoculate workers in vulnerable sectors including food processing plants, farms and greenhouses as well as industries requiring employees to live in congregate settings, health officials announced Monday.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said the vaccine is being allocated to industries where barriers and full use of personal protective equipment can be challenging and where outbreaks and clusters are ongoing.

"Immunizing workers in these settings will not only protect workers, it will also protect the communities around them, including many rural, remote and Indigenous communities," Henry and Dix said in a joint statement.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, provide an update on COVID-19 in BC. #covidbc https://t.co/cdGMevOGcc

— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) March 15, 2021

The highest-risk categories of work sites were identified through a task force established by the provincial health officer last November.

They include sites where poultry, fruit and fish are processed as well as agricultural operations and large industrial camps where close living quarters make isolation and quarantine difficult, contributing to outbreaks.

Henry and Dix said the BC Immunization Committee is reviewing the latest data and recommendations from its federal counterpart to determine additional workplaces that will be prioritized for immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The effort to inoculate vulnerable workers complements the province's age-based vaccination plan, which is one week ahead of schedule, with seniors aged 84 and older, plus Indigenous elders 65 and up, currently booking appointments for a shot.

The Health Ministry said people aged 83 and older can make an appointment Tuesday and the age eligibility drops daily until anyone 80 and up can make arrangements for a COVID-19 jab by the end of the week.

Added staff at call centres across B.C. have helped speed up the process and the province says the centres are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

An estimated 100,000 people are included in the 80- to 84-year-old group and phone appointments are the only way to make a booking in all regions except Fraser Health.

Health Minister Adrian Dix has said a provincewide online system is expected within weeks.

Monday also marks the launch of vaccination clinics across B.C. for Indigenous elders and seniors over 90 who already have appointments.

Clinics also begin in Prince Rupert and Port Edward, where all adults are being immunized, regardless of age, due to stubbornly high infection rates in that northwestern region.

At last count on Friday, B.C. had reported just under 87,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and had administered almost 381,000 doses of vaccine.