B.C. respiratory illness season starts as province secures millions of vaccine doses

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s respiratory illness season has started, with the province preparing to distribute millions of vaccine doses to combat the rise of both influenza and COVID-19.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province has secured almost two million doses of this season’s flu vaccine and 1.5 million doses of an updated COVID-19 vaccine based on the uptake last season.

The province began notifying priority groups, such as people over 65 and those with chronic conditions, that the vaccines are available and vaccinations will begin next Tuesday, while they’ll expand to the general population in early November.

Also new this year is that those over 75 and Indigenous people over 60 are now eligible for a free vaccine for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, which can lead to severe symptoms for those who are vulnerable.