BC has begun a provincial immunization campaign for COVID-19 that is larger than any immunization campaign in our history. Last week, Ministry of Health representatives attended a FPSC meeting to share information about COVID-19 immunization planning and coordination. As a result of the scale and complexity of the campaign, it is being designed as a centrally coordinated, province-wide initiative, with health authorities managing mass immunization to the population.
During the next couple months, vaccines will be delivered in large public venues in urban centers. Smaller communities may see vaccines delivered from physician clinics, depending on local needs. Even if your clinic will not be administering vaccines in the next little while, family physicians will need to continue providing reliable information, addressing vaccine hesitancy, and supporting elderly/vulnerable patients within your practice. To support family doctors, the Doctors of BC has created a COVID-19 Toolkit with useful resources.
As more information becomes available about about supply and logistics, things will likely evolve. The ways in which family physicians might participate in immunization provision via health authority mass immunization clinics or other means are still being determined. BC Family Doctors will continue to ensure information is provided to members and to provide input at a provincial level.
For more information, please read the letter from FPSC and BC’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan.