People wait in line for hours to get the AstraZeneca vaccine after the province of British Columbia reduced the age limit to 30.

When the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine was made available for the first time to people over the age of 30 in "hot spot" neighborhoods in Coquitlam, B.C., a four-hour queue snaked outside a sports complex.

A long line snaked for miles outside the suburban Vancouver clinic.

When the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine was made available for the first time to people over the age of 30 in "hot spot" neighborhoods, a four-hour queue snaked outside a sports complex in Coquitlam, B.C.

"We reasoned that in the worst-case scenario, a nurse would refuse us." Both Hidlebaugh and Bahnman are in their late thirties.

With the exception of Indigenous people, who are eligible at age 18, the youngest people eligible for the vaccine in B.C. were those born in 1981. The vaccine may be given to people aged 30 and up who don't want to wait for an authorized mRNA vaccine and meet some other criteria, according to Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

A benefit-risk analysis, informed consent, and a significant delay in receiving an mRNA vaccine are among the requirements.

After warnings of unusual and treatable blood clots, the committee previously suggested a pause on using AstraZeneca shots for people younger than 55 out of an abundance of caution. However, the federal government announced earlier this month that provinces and territories could extend eligibility for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to any adult over the age of 18.

After warnings of unusual and treatable blood clots, the committee previously suggested a pause on using AstraZeneca shots for people younger than 55 out of an abundance of caution. However, the federal government announced earlier this month that provinces and territories could extend eligibility for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine to any adult over the age of 18.

The shots were intended for residents of high-transmission neighborhoods in the area, according to Fraser Health, which confirmed the drop-in clinic shortly afternoon, along with another at the Cloverdale Recreation Centre in Surrey, outside of Vancouver.

No one was turned away from speaking with the media in Coquitlam on Tuesday because they reside in another city.

Gulzar Hassan can't stand for long periods of time, so the people in line ahead of her decision to keep her place so she could take a break on a nearby bench.

"God bless them," she said, "I'm so grateful for that." "They just made a bid without even asking."