How to Get Your Covid Vaccine

If you live in BC, here are some tips on how to get your covid vaccine.

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How to register for Covid Vaccine

You can register yourself or someone else, like a parent or grandparent. Everyone 18 and older in B.C. are eligible to get vaccinated, even if you don’t have a Personal Health Number or other documentation.

You can register online at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/. To register online, you will need to provide personal information. You will need to prove your: first and last name, date of birth, postal code, personal health number, and an email address or phone number.

If you don’t have a personal health number, you will need to register through phone or at a Service BC office.

Book an appointment

You will receive a text, email, or phone call when you’re eligible to book an appointment.

Right now the booking invitations are being sent to: 

  • People born in 1985 or earlier (36+)
  • Indigenous people born in 2003 or earlier (18+)
  • Clinically extremely vulnerable people
  • Pregnant people born in 2005 or earlier (16+)
  • Priority neighborhoods (high- transmission neighborhood, 18+)

Get the vaccine

After booking your appointment, you can visit the vaccine clinic to get your vaccine dose. After the first dose, people will be notified by email, text, or phone call when they are eligible to book an appointment for their second dose.

During the appointment, you will get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine dose. A choice will not be offered. The total expected time at the clinic would be 30 to 60 minutes.

Moderna and Pfizer Vaccine, what you need to know

Is Moderna covid vaccine (mRNA-1273) safe?

This vaccine has undergone review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and consequently meets WHO’s criteria for SAGE consideration.

The EMA has thoroughly assessed the data on the quality, safety, and efficacy of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and authorized its use across the European Union.

How efficacious is the vaccine?

The Moderna vaccine has been shown to have an efficacy of approximately 92 percent in protecting against COVID-19, starting 14 days after the first dose.

Does it work against new variants?

Based on the evidence so far, the new variants of SARS-CoV-2, including the B.1.1.7 and the 501Y.V2, do not alter the effectiveness of the Moderna mRNA vaccine.

Is Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine (Tozinameran or BNT162b2) safe?

Health Canada first authorized this vaccine with conditions on December 9, 2020, under the Interim Order Respecting the Importation, Sale, and Advertising of Drugs for Use in Relation to COVID-19. On May 5, 2021, the authorization was expanded to include individuals aged 12 to 15. 

How effective is it?

Clinical studies showed that beginning 1 week after the second dose, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine was:

  • 95% effective in protecting trial participants aged 16 and above against COVID-19 and
  • 100% effective in participants 12 to 15 years old

Possible side effects?

The side effects that followed vaccine administration in clinical trials were mild or moderate. They included things like pain at the site of injection, body chills, feeling tired, and feeling feverish.

These are common side effects of vaccines and do not pose a risk to health.

Health Canada has conducted a rigorous scientific review of the available medical evidence to assess the safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. No major safety concerns have been identified in the data that we reviewed.

If you live outside of BC, please check covid vaccination information on your own province’s websites.

As of May 12, 2021, the total number of doses given in Canada is 16.6 million, with 1.29 million people fully vaccinated.

Date: May 12, 2021

 

References:

BC’s Response to Covid19

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info

Coronavirus (covid-19) Vaccinations. Statistics and Research. Retrieved from:

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccination

How to Get Vaccinated for Covid-19

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register

The Moderna COVID 19(mRNA-1273) vaccine: what you need to know

www.who.int

 

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