[News] Vaccine Report Card 2025

New Report Scores BC a 'D+' on Vaccinating Seniors

CanAge releases Vaccine Report Card—solid digital infrastructure undermined by funding failures

TORONTO ON, October 14, 2025—CanAge, Canada's National Seniors' Advocacy Organization, has released its Vaccine Report Card, evaluating all provinces and territories on their efforts to vaccinate older adults. British Columbia scored an overall grade of D+, revealing a troubling disconnect between modern digital infrastructure and inadequate funding.

"British Columbia has built a solid digital healthcare infrastructure—which was once the envy of the country," said Laura Tamblyn Watts, CEO of CanAge. "But infrastructure without funding is just an expensive system for telling people what vaccines they can't afford. That's not healthcare—that's frustration."

The report shows BC provides no shingles funding (cost barrier exceeding $300 per vaccine series) and no RSV funding. The province delayed pneumococcal modernization until July 2025 and provides inadequate Tdap programs that fail to protect against pertussis despite recent outbreak activity.

British Columbia is home to 1,127,346 seniors (19.8% of the population), with 64.9% living with multiple chronic conditions.

Despite funding failures, BC still demonstrates exceptional capability through its strong healthcare provider education resources, Health Gateway portal, Provincial Immunization Registry, and dedicated access points for Indigenous communities.

"BC could transform its grade almost overnight with funding decisions," said Tamblyn Watts. "Add shingles and RSV funding, ensure adequate supply of the most effective flu vaccines, and suddenly you're not looking at a D+ anymore."

The latest edition of the Vaccine Report Card is available at www.canage.ca/vaccinereport2025.

About CanAge

CanAge is Canada's National Seniors' Advocacy organization; a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to improve the lives of older adults through advocacy, policy, and community engagement.