Another 100,000 British Columbians who are moderately to severely immunocompromised will now be able to get a third vaccine dose.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Tuesday (Oct. 5) that the third dose will bring these individuals up to the same level of immune protection as healthy individuals. The first group of 15,000 people considered the most vulnerable have been eligible for their third dose since mid–September.
The list of conditions and medications that qualify these 100,000 people for a third dose include people in active treatment for solid tumour or hematologic malignancies since March 2020 who have received or are receiving systemic therapies; people who since October 2020 have received or are receiving radiation therapy for cancer; people who have moderate to severe primary immunodeficiency or combined immune deficiencies; people with AIDS-defining illness or CD4 count ≤ 200/mm3 or CD4 fraction ≤ 15% or detectable plasma viral load since January 2021 or HIV infection and ≥ 65 years old or perinatally acquired HIV infection; people on certain immunosuppressive therapies; people on dialysis and/or with severe renal or renal disease. A full list is available at https://www2.gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated.
Most of those affected will be contacted by the Get Vaccinated system. Individuals who believe they now qualify for a third dose but have not been contacted by next week can look online should reach out to their treatment provider.
READ MORE: B.C. to offer 3rd COVID-19 vaccine doses to severely immunocompromised people
