Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks at a press conference April 8.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK
May 31, 2021 - 4:20 PM
A majority of adults in B.C. have now had a COVID-19 vaccine, the province’s top doctor said today, May 31.
Including adults and children over the age of 12, there have been 3,250,116 doses of all three COVID-19 vaccines distributed. Of these, 179,954 people have received second doses.
“This equates to 69.7% of all adults 18 plus, and 66.1% of those 12 and over,” provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said an immunization clinic in the Rutland neighbourhood of Kelowna is an example of successful outreach efforts.
“We had a pop up clinic (in Rutland) that was successful immunizing about 250 people in a short period of time and we are looking at those kinds of decisions strategically to address areas where we had not previously had a high level of immunization," Dix said.
That the vaccine is rolling into the province and being deposited into arms is positive, Dr. Henry said, but it’s not 100% protection just yet.
“A second dose is necessary to maximize our protection, for the maximum amount of time,” she said.
She said more Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are expected to arrive in the coming weeks and the second dose program will start on Thursday.
Those who received AstraZeneca can expect to learn more about their second doses on Thursday.
“While we are making significant headway in our immunization efforts, and that is reflected in the decreasing case counts in our communities and in our hospitals, it is still a time of caution for all of us,” she said. “New strains are circulating and outbreaks are still occurring in schools in hospitals, in long term care, and in our communities.”
Today, B.C. is headed into the post-long weekend incubation period when, if there was any spread of the disease, it would become apparent now. It's repeatedly proven itself to be an issue in this province. She said it’s important that people who have symptoms get tested right away.
From Friday to Saturday there were 258 new cases of COVID-19, from Saturday to Sunday, 238, and in the last 24 hours an additional 212 for a grand total of 708 since Friday. Of these, 113 were in Interior Health.
There are now 2,953 active cases across the province 249 people in hospital, with 78 of whom in critical care or ICU. There were also 11 people who died from COVID-19 over this weekend, bringing the B.C. death toll to 1,703.
One was a person in their 40s, two were people in their 60s, six people were in their 70s, and two were over 80.
There was also an additional case of VITT or the vaccine induced thrombocytopenia raising the total number of cases to three in B.C.
The man was in his 30s and in the Island Health Region. He is now receiving treatment and recovering in hospital.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Kathy Michaels or call 250-718-0428 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2021