More than 300,000 front-line workers, including first responders, grocery store employees, and teachers and child care workers, will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations over the coming weeks as the Province’s COVID-19 Immunization Plan moves forward ahead of schedule.

Beginning in April, people in priority groups identified by public health and the COVID-19 Workplace Task Group will start to receive their first dose of the AstraZeneca/SII COVISHIELD (AZ/SII) vaccine.

These groups include:

  • first responders (police, firefighters, emergency transport);
  • K-12 educational staff;
  • child care staff;
  • grocery store workers;
  • postal workers;
  • bylaw and quarantine officers;
  • manufacturing workers;
  • wholesale/warehousing employees;
  • staff living in congregate housing at places such as ski hills;
  • correctional facilities staff; and
  • cross-border transport staff.

These priority groups have been identified as workers in places and sectors where:

  • the use of personal protective equipment and barriers can be challenging;
  • outbreaks and clusters have occurred or are ongoing;
  • workers must live or work in congregate settings; or
  • maintaining the workforce for a critical service is necessary.

These sectors or settings prioritized for the AZ/SII vaccine are in addition to the workplaces previously identified by public health where vaccines are being used to assist with outbreak response. Currently in B.C., the first shipment of AZ/SII is being deployed to protect people in workplaces identified as having the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission, including:

  • food processing plants, including poultry, fruit and fish processing;
  • agricultural operations with congregate worker accommodations, including farms, nurseries and greenhouses; and
  • large industrial camps with congregate accommodations for workers.

In total, B.C. expects to receive approximately 340,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine by the end of May. The Province will use a combination of community pharmacists, existing immunization clinics and mobile clinics at some worksites to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to front-line workers.

Booking arrangements for front-line workers will be established in the coming weeks and will be communicated clearly and directly to each sector to arrange bookings. Workers identified as “front-line” and prioritized for the AstraZeneca vaccine should not call into regional health authority call centres at this time.

Information provided by the Government of B.C.