Why only a select group is being offered a fourth COVID-19 vaccine in B.C. – for now

As the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be fading into the sunset in B.C., provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is still pushing hard to get more people vaccinated.

At a now rare press briefing today, April 5, she pointed out that 50% of B.C. residents have been infected with COVID, even if they don’t know it.

There is also a high level of vaccination in the province – 91.1% of those over the age of 12 have had two doses – and those who do get infected usually have mild or no symptoms.

Combined, those two factors – vaccinations and infections – mean that most B.C. residents have a high level of protection against, at least, getting seriously ill with COVID.

But that protection is uneven and infection carries other risks than just a few days of not feeling well.

The data compiled to estimate how many people have been infected includes a 50-60% infection rate for 0-4-year-olds, who don’t yet have access to vaccines.

“Omicron is a less serious illness in that age,” Dr. Henry said.

For older people who have been vaccinated and still get infected, the disease is milder than earlier variations and boosts their immune response.

That’s the good news, but that changes for hundreds of thousands of others.

Those over 70 and those with compromised immune symptoms are much more likely to get seriously ill from the disease and die. That’s why they’re being offered the fourth shot.

READ MORE: 4th COVID shots starting for key groups in B.C. as vaccine cards are removed

“This is a very targeted program,” Dr. Henry said. “It’s targeted to those who are most at risk of having waning immunity. Most of them have had their first booster, so their third shot, and the level of protection is waning over time. I expect that we are going to see a high uptake of the fourth dose in seniors and elders.”

While only 59.3% of adult B.C. residents have bothered to get their booster shots, 90% of people over the age of 70 got their third dose so are more likely to go for their fourth.

That doesn’t mean that those under the age of 70 should just shrug the pandemic off.

“Prevention of infection is important,” Dr. Henry said. “People who get infected with this virus can develop long symptoms even if they don’t have very severe illness. Long COVID is a very real phenomenon. We know that this virus can cause inflammation of the heart and inflammation of the lining of the heart, of the blood vessels that can lead to things like strokes and heart attacks. That (symptoms) can go on for a long time and can leave people with long lasting effects.”

Still, at this time, there are no plans to offer fourth doses to younger residents without compromised immune systems.

“The rest of us, who have had our booster already, have good strong protection,” Dr. Henry said. “We don’t yet know what’s going to happen when we come up to late summer and early fall when we expect to be back in respiratory season. It could be we’ll need, maybe, an annual booster. Maybe it will be just for people who are most at risk.”

Despite all the positive signs, COVID is not going away.

“It will change,” Dr. Henry said. “We’ve seen that globally, that this virus will change. This (vaccination) is the best way to protect ourselves now and into the future.”

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