Fourth vaccine dose coming to B.C. soon; vaccine card requirement to be dropped Friday

VICTORIA—Effective Friday, April 8, 12:01 a.m. you will no longer need your vaccine card to enter most places.

The Ministry of Health announced today that it will be ending the BC Vaccine Card requirement but the option for businesses to still use it is on the table. After several weeks of declining hospitalizations and cases in intensive care units, the province made the decision to stick with its original timeline announced on March 10, and lift remaining public mandates. Post-secondary residence vaccine requirements will also be lifted.

The ministry also announced that fourth doses will be made available to residents aged 70 or above and to immunocompromised individuals that are six months past their last vaccination. Eligible individuals will be notified through the Get Vaccinated system when they can book an appointment.

Changes to how COVID-19 numbers will be reported are also coming. The province is switching to weekly reporting every Thursday morning instead of daily briefs. Changes to how deaths are reported are also coming that could cause a temporary increase in deaths reported due to covid. Any extra deaths will be investigated and removed from the rolling total at later dates. The province believes that in the long run, it will provide more accurate numbers.