Wait time between COVID doses in B.C. cut by three weeks

B.C. is reducing the wait time between COVID-19 doses from 49 days to 28 days.

The change is due to rising case numbers, a number that is currently at about 70 percent in B.C. for those 12 and older, and the need to get more residents fully vaccinated.

The wait between doses is already down to 28 days in the Central Okanagan due to an outbreak in that region, and today’s announcement makes the policy go province-wide.

The province says notices will start going out tonight with the policy beginning Tuesday.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says 833,298 eligible people in B.C. are not yet vaccinated.

New restrictions were implemented on Kelowna and the Central Okanagan due to rising cases almost two weeks ago, which were ramped up last week to close down bars and nightclubs and reduce gathering numbers.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says they’ve been watching the new case numbers very closely.

“We are seeing a levelling, but we have not yet seen a decrease in cases, and it continues to be primarily in settings where younger people are coming together and are unvaccinated,” Henry told a media conference Monday.

Henry points out the new cases reflect exposure events from a week to ten days before.