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The province has unveiled its plan to vaccinate 4.3 million people against COVID-19 between April and the end of September.

Herd immunity to COVID-19 can be reached if the majority of people in B.C. choose to be vaccinated, said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry. Until then, restrictions on gathering will remain in place, and the need to maintain a physical distance from one another, wear masks in public places and practise infection-prevention remains critical.

“We have a plan,” Henry said. “We know it’s going to take a few months but we have an end in sight and now is our time to stay committed to doing what we need to do to stop the transmission of COVID-19 here in British Columbia.”

The mass vaccination program, the largest in the province’s history, will be rolled out based on age in four phases, starting with those age 80 and older living in the community and ending with young adults. There are no approved COVID-19 vaccines for minors with the exception of some older teens with high-risk conditions.

“Age is the most important risk factor for hospitalization and mortality — that is the underlying driving factor,” Henry said.

Seniors 80 years of age and older and Indigenous seniors 65 and older can expect more information — via advertisements, public health notifications and media reports — in mid to late February about online and phone registration and vaccination clinics starting in March.

The province expects it will likely start vaccinating the 75-79 age group in the second half of March.

“Everyone in British Columbia has been affected by the pandemic,” said Premier John Horgan. “We are not equally vulnerable to the virus, and the science is very clear, the single biggest factor of death of severe illness is age — someone over the age of 60 is five times more likely to be seriously ill or die than someone under 45.”

The vaccines require two doses and the province plans to give residents the same product for both doses unless Health Canada advises otherwise.

After receiving their first dose, people will received a physical card as well as automated reminder of the date and place for their second vaccine. Once completed, they will receive a digital proof of immunization that can be viewed or printed.

The vaccine passport is for a person’s own health record, Henry said: “People will not be denied services based on vaccination status in B.C.”

To see as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible, later phases will include mass immunization clinics in local arenas, convention and community halls and school gymnasiums, mobile clinics, and residential visits for the housebound. Non-profit groups and the private sector will also offer vaccinations.

The province is on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s promise on behalf of the Canadian government that every Canadian who wants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 can be by the end of September 2021.

Canada has secured six million doses of vaccine for the first quarter of the year and expects to receive a further 20 million doses in the second quarter and 45 million in the third quarter.

Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are approved for use in Canada. It is expected that the AstraZeneca vaccine will likely be approved in coming months, and there are also other vaccines not as far along in the approval process.

B.C.’s plan, however, is based on only approved vaccines. If more are approved, it will allow for flexibility to target other populations, the government said.

Provincial health officials say they will adjust the plan if there are disruptions to the expected supply and delivery. Dr. Penny Ballem, chair of Vancouver Coastal Health and a former deputy health minister, is leading the province’s COVID-19 immunization plan and says the province is ready to adjust depending on the flow of vaccine.

Vaccinations for high-priority populations such as residents of long-term care homes began in December. All residents and staff in care homes throughout the province should have received a first dose in the “next few days,” Henry said.

ceharnett@timescolonist.com