Today, the Government of British Columbia announced a four-phased plan for administering COVID-19 vaccines to everyone in the province who wants to be vaccinated.

Under the current plan, workers in community home support and nursing services for seniors will be included in Phase 2 of the vaccine plan. These workers will be eligible to be vaccinated between February and March.

Workers in grocery, retail, and industrial jobs may become eligible to receive the vaccine in Phase 3, ahead of the general population. This early eligibility depends on the availability and approval of additional vaccines. If additional vaccines become available, these workers will be eligible to be vaccinated between April and June.

UFCW 1518 is optimistic that there will be additional vaccine options available in this time frame, however, we are pushing for these workers to be given assured access to the vaccine in Phase 3. Today, President Kim Novak sent a letter to Health Minister Adrian Dix, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Labour Minister Harry Bains, asking them to guarantee vaccine access in phase 3 for front line workers in grocery, retail, and industrial food processing jobs. Having access to early vaccines will provide an additional layer of protection for these workers while they carry on their critical work.

You can read a copy of the letter here.