New Westminster is ahead of the provincial curve when it comes to COVID-19 booster doses – but the push for third jabs may be slowing down.
As of Feb. 22, 62% of eligible adults (aged 18+) in New West had received their third dose of vaccine against COVID-19, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. That's up just a little from 60% last week, and it's ahead of the B.C. mark of 57.2%.
Booster doses for the 12-to-17 age group have also started to roll out, and New West is now at 38% – a big jump from 25% last week.
The third-dose vaccination rate has stabilized for older adults, as the rate for 70+ has remained at 80% for three weeks running. Among adults aged 50+, this week's third-dose rate is 72%, just a smidgen up from 71% last week. Among younger adults (18-49), it's climbed just a little, from 50% to 53%.
For first and second doses, New Westminster's vaccination rates have plateaued at rates higher than 90% across the board. (See data below.)
The most vaccinated age group in the city remains the younger adults. Among the 18-to-49 group, 98% now have a first dose of vaccine, while 96% have two doses.
The least vaccinated age group is the five-to-11-year-old population, who became eligible for first doses on Nov. 29. So far, 66% of that age group have received a first dose – a number that seems to have stalled, with 66% last week and 65% the week before. Second doses for that age group began Jan. 24; so far, 33% of New Westminster children have received their second shot – a significant jump over 22% last week.
Here's how to get your COVID-19 vaccination
B.C. is scaling back its mass immunization clinics for adults and converting many of them for children only. New Westminster's main vaccination clinic, at Anvil Centre, is now showing appointments for five-to-11-year-olds only.
For New Westminster adults, the closest clinics currently reflecting appointments are the Burnaby testing and immunization centre at BCIT and the Coquitlam clinic at the Coquitlam Central station park-and-ride. You can check out a full list of clinic locations and hours at the Fraser Health website.
To find out all the details about how to register for vaccination, visit the B.C. government's Get Vaccinated website.
What are vaccination rates like in New Westminster?
Here's how vaccination rates look across the board (last week's numbers in brackets):
First dose:
5-11: 66% (66%)
5+: 94% (94%) (no data available from last week)
12-17: 95% (95%)
18+: 96% (96%)
18-49: 98% (98%)
50+: 93% (93%)
70+: 94% (94%)
Second dose:
5-11: 33% (22%)
5+: 90% (89%)
12-17: 91% (91%)
18+: 94% (94%)
18-49: 96% (96%)
50+: 91% (91%)
70+: 92% (92%)
Third dose:
12-17: 38% (25%)
5+: 57% (54%)
18+: 62% (60%)
18-49: 53% (50%)
50+: 72% (71%)
70+: 80% (80%)
Follow Julie MacLellan on Twitter @juliemaclellan.
Email Julie, [email protected].
