B.C. is “gearing up” to provide COVID-19 booster shots for residents of long-term care facilities come this fall, according to the province’s top doctor.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said health officials are still determining the appropriate interval between second and third doses as vaccine protection against COVID-19 wanes over the course of months.
Henry said she was “speculating a little bit” when suggesting the appropriate interval would be six to eight months.
That time period places the need for boosters for long-term care residents around October, she added.
As for most other British Columbians, Henry said the “data we’re seeing right now doesn’t show that we need a booster dose yet. It may be some time in the new year.”
One of the factors B.C. must consider is the longer intervals between first and second doses that were administered in the province. That plan was put in place last spring in a bid to offer first doses to as many people as possible amid supply shortages.
But the strategy also has proven successful at extending the length of time the vaccines are effective.
Other jurisdictions, such as the U.S. and Israel, stuck to the narrower window of time set out by the vaccine manufacturers (generally three weeks vs. up to six weeks in B.C.).
For that reason, Henry said health officials must continue to examine the optimal timing to administer boosters, which would also likely include updates targeting the variants of the coronavirus that have emerged in recent months.
Meanwhile, modelling data released by the province on Tuesday confirmed the number of COVID-19 cases and related hospitalizations across B.C. continue to be dominated by unvaccinated residents.
The latest data shows fully vaccinated individuals accounted for 15% of COVID-19 cases and 13% of hospitalizations between July 30 and August 26.
Nearly two out of five (39%) deaths were among the fully vaccinated but Henry emphasized that those deaths occurred primarily among older individuals with weaker immune systems, hence the relatively higher percent of deaths among the fully vaccinated.
