No COVID Shot Appointments Available? Check Again Later

More than two million British Columbians have been invited to book a vaccine appointment since the province kicked off its fall vaccination campaign on Oct. 7.

As of Oct. 19, around 275,000 people had gotten the flu vaccine and 215,000 people had gotten the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Health Ministry.

“Immunization remains the best protection against severe disease, complications and hospitalization,” said deputy provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie at a press conference last Wednesday. “People should also take other measures, including staying home if they are sick, covering coughs and sneezes and cleaning their hands frequently.”

There are plenty more vaccine doses to go around. The Health Ministry said it has ordered 1.94 million doses of the 2025-26 influenza vaccine and 1.4 million doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccines, which include Moderna’s Spikevax LP.8.1 and Pfizer Comirnaty.

To minimize waste, the ministry said it decides how many vaccines to order based on how many people got vaccinated in previous seasons.

These vaccines are approved by Health Canada, free for everyone with a Personal Health Number, available for everyone over six months old and in line with recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

British Columbians who were sent an invitation to book a vaccine can also book through the link that was sent to them.

Anyone without a Personal Health Number can still get a vaccine but needs to call the vaccine operations call centre at +1 (833) 838-2323 to set that up, the ministry said. Translators are available at that number.

COVID cases on the rise in BC

COVID-19 is currently circulating in B.C., according to the BC Centre for Disease Control wastewater surveillance program, which tracks respiratory diseases in B.C.

In the Northern Health service area, COVID-19 cases are on the rise, and on Vancouver Island cases are “high” compared to the worst of last year’s cold and flu season.

Influenza A and B and RSV aren’t circulating yet, but likely will begin to starting in November and December, which is when cases spiked in 2024, according to data from the wastewater surveillance report dashboard.

Compared to the first week of the 2024 fall vaccination campaign, 2025 numbers are up, with an additional 57,000 people vaccinated against COVID and 21,000 vaccinated against the flu.

But overall vaccination rates are sliding.

Fewer people got vaccinated against the flu and COVID in 2024 compared to 2023, the ministry said in an email.

People are most at risk from the flu during cold and flu season, which generally runs from November to April. In the spring and summer flu cases in B.C. drop to nearly zero.

COVID-19 doesn’t follow a similar seasonal pattern and cases can still spike in the spring and summer.

No appointments available? Check again later

If an area does not have any appointments available, the ministry advised to try checking again later that day.

When The Tyee checked last Wednesday, several small towns and cities reported having no vaccination appointments available, such as Texada Island and Powell River in the qathet Regional District, Anahim Lake, Dease Lake, Cache Creek, Bulkley House and Peachland.

The Health Ministry said some communities may have limited coverage due to the small number of pharmacies offering vaccinations in an area and “every effort is made to ensure vaccine supply arrives regularly.”

The Tyee spoke with Powell River Councillor Rob Southcott who said he hadn’t heard of any delays and, in general, vaccine rollout in the qathet Regional District, including for the Tla’amin Nation, has been smooth.

District of Peachland Councillor Terry Condon similarly said vaccine rollout has been smooth in his community and that the two local pharmacies are able to meet the local demand for vaccinations.

According to a Northern Health website, around 1,400 British Columbians die each year from the flu or related complications, like pneumonia.

As of Oct. 1, 2024, which is the most recent available data, COVID-19 had killed 7,394 British Columbians.

Vaccines are available through health authority clinics, more than 1,200 participating pharmacies and some primary-care providers’ offices.