Registering online takes approximately two minutes. People need their personal health number (found on their CareCard or on the back of their driver's licence or BC Services Card), postal code, first and last name, date of birth and an email address that gets checked regularly or a phone number that can receive text messages to register. Registration is the first step. Once registered, people will be contacted when it is their turn to book a vaccine appointment. To preserve system capacity, wait until your age cohort is called to register.

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff

VICTORIA - A new vaccine registration schedule will provide certainty for more than 1.3 million British Columbians aged 40 and older, as B.C.'s Get Vaccinated program moves forward.

A new schedule for age cohorts to register ensures people know when it is their turn:

* Monday, April 12 - registration opens for people aged 55 and up

* Wednesday, April 14 - registration opens for people aged 50 and up

* Friday, April 16 - registration opens for people aged 45 and up

* Monday, April 19 - registration opens for people aged 40 and up

The fastest and most effective way to register is online at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated.html

Registering online takes approximately two minutes. People need their personal health number (found on their CareCard or on the back of their driver's licence or BC Services Card), postal code, first and last name, date of birth and an email address that gets checked regularly or a phone number that can receive text messages to register.

Registration is the first step. Once registered, people will be contacted when it is their turn to book a vaccine appointment. To preserve system capacity, wait until your age cohort is called to register.

People born in 1961 and earlier (60 and older), Indigenous peoples 18 and older, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable are already invited to register through B.C.'s new Get Vaccinated system in one of three ways:

* Quickly online, 24/7, at: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/getvaccinated.html

* Through a provincial call centre between 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. (Pacific time) at 1 833 838-2323

* In person at the nearest Service BC location

Those who are 65 and older and have registered can expect a booking invitation very soon. Those over the age of 66 have already been invited to book.

B.C.'s age-based program runs parallel to the pharmacy program for people between the ages of 55 and 65. Now, anyone between 55-65 years of age is eligible to be vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in local pharmacies throughout the province - not just in the Lower Mainland. This is the fastest way for people between 55-65 years of age to receive a vaccine.

A full list of participating pharmacies is here: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/pharmacy

More pharmacies are being added in the days to come.

Since the Get Vaccinated provincial registration and booking system started on April 6, more than 730,000 British Columbians have registered and more than 200,000 have booked their shot.

As of April 12, 2021, more than one million people in B.C. have received their first vaccine dose, with that number increasing every day.