COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Community Vaccine Providers

Information on this page is for Community Vaccine Providers (CVPs) within Island Health, excluding community pharmacists. Community pharmacists access information through the BC Pharmacy Association.

• Immunization Information for Healthcare Professionals
• Immunizations Courses for Health Professionals

COVID-19 vaccine will be easily accessible this spring with appointment availability through community pharmacies. Public Health will be offering COVID-19 vaccine appointments for individuals 6 months to 11 years of age at local Public Health units, community clinics in rural and remote communities, and may offer community clinics for those 12+ years of age depending on community pharmacy capacity. Starting in early April invitations to book an appointment will be sent through the  Get Vaccinated system.

The 2023-2024 Influenza season is now complete. For more information regarding Influenza vaccine please check back in the Fall of 2024. In exceptional circumstances Influenza vaccine may be available at your local Public Health unit. Please contact your local Public Health unit for more information.

Vaccine Management

• All staff who monitor, handle or administer vaccine must be familiar with the cold chain process and BCCDC Vaccine Management resources
• Vaccine must always be stored between +2°C to +8°C either in a monitored fridge or cooler packed according to BCCDC standards
• Record the minimum, maximum and current vaccine fridge temperatures at the start and end of each day using the BCCDC Fridge Temperature Form
• Vaccine stored in a cooler for ≥4 hours must be monitored with a min/max thermometer
• If vaccine is exposed to any temperature outside +2°C to +8°C, immediately:
  • Place vaccine in a bag and label ‘QUARANTINE – DO NOT USE’
  • Store bag between +2°C to +8°C in a monitored fridge or cooler packed according to BCCDC standards
  • Contact local health unit

Vaccine Eligibility

• COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility

Vaccine Products

• COVID-19 Vaccine 

Ordering Vaccine

COVID-19 Vaccine Order Form for Community Vaccine Providers
COVID-19 Vaccine Order Form for Community Health Services

Start placing vaccine orders the week of April 8 for distribution the following week.

Place as needed taking into account the shorter vaccine expiry date for COVID-19 vaccine. When submitting a subsequent order, doses on hand must be recorded on the vaccine order form. Forms with incomplete information, including doses on hand, will result in a delay in orders being filled as public health will need to follow-up to request missing information. Allow at least 5 working days (Monday to Friday) to fill your order.

Picking up vaccine

All vaccine providers are responsible for picking up the vaccine once contacted by the health unit to confirm order is ready. Bring a hard-sided cooler with frozen ice packs and insulating material (e.g.: flexible insulating blankets or gel packs at refrigerator temperature (+2C to +8C), bubble wrap, crumpled paper or Styrofoam peanuts) when picking up vaccine otherwise vaccine will not be released.

Documentation & Reporting

All Community vaccine providers (including Primary Care)

COVID-19: all doses must be recorded in the Provincial Immunization Registry (i.e. ImmsBC or eForm)

Primary Care Providers follow the steps below to order and document COVID-19 vaccines:

1. Order COVID-19 vaccines using the COVID-19 Vaccine Order Form for Community Vaccine Providers.

2. The Public Health Informatics Team will review the information on the order form and request a Service Delivery Location (SDL) for your office from the Provincial Team. A SDL is required so your clinic can enter vaccines in the eForm system. The SDL typically takes about five business days to be created.

• The Public Health Informatics Team will send the Primary Care Providers (PCP) eForm Onboarding Process and Immunization eForm Guide to Primary Care Providers to you by email.

3. Follow the instructions in the email to complete the eForm education.

• If you require support with eForm access contact eformsenrolment@phsa.ca

4. The Informatics Team will email you once your SDL is created. Once the SDL is created and you have completed the education you can start documenting influenza and COVID vaccines in eForms.

Note: The local health unit will contact you when your COVID-19 vaccine order is ready to be picked up. Providers are able to administer COVID-19 vaccines before they have eForm access, but all doses must be back entered in eForms.

Acute Care 

• All doses of COVID-19 & Influenza must be reported to public health using the Vaccine Recording Form for Acute Care.
• Peer Immunizers: check back soon for updates on the use of eForms.

Community Health Services

• All COVID-19 & Influenza doses must be recorded in the Provincial Immunization Registry (i.e. ImmsBC)
• At the end of each clinic day, complete the Online Clinic Tally Form.
• For Access to ImmsBC:
  • Supervisor: complete ImmsBC User Account Request Form using the ImmsBC Request Workflow
    ImmsBC User: complete Education for CHS
    Support & Questions: email PublicHealthInformatics@islandhealth.ca

Reporting Adverse Events

Reporting Adverse Events

COVID-19 & Influenza Activity

• Island Health: Active Outbreak List
• BCCDC: COVID-19 Situation Report
• Government of Canada: National Surveillance for COVID-19

Resources

• COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit for Health Professionals
• Immunization Communication Tool for COVID-19
• Island Health COVID-19 Resources for Vaccine Providers

Contacts

• Public Health Units
• Medical Health Officers