The number of COVID-related deaths in B.C. passed 1,000 on Monday as the province announced it had used up its vaccine supply and is awaiting more.
B.C.’s supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine — 50,700 doses — has run out and the remaining 20,500 doses of the Moderna vaccine have been distributed for use, but provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said new shipments are expected by Thursday.
“Let me be clear, everybody will have their turn,” she said.
The province has been told the number of doses it receives will increase each month.
High-risk groups — people more likely to die or be hospitalized from the virus, such as those in long-term care — are the focus right now, Henry said, “recognizing that we have a limited amount of vaccine that is coming between now and the end of March.”
Care homes with outbreaks are also a priority.
About 10 per cent of the population should be vaccinated by March 31, Henry said, but details for who will be vaccinated and when are still being worked out.
“But we will absolutely be looking at our essential workers across the board,” she said.
Allowances are also being made for those who are at risk due to things such as age and underlying conditions, she said.
“Those details are coming.”
For now, the Health Ministry says, there is no need to contact your doctor or the health authority about getting immunized. More information should be released by late January.
Henry addressed the province’s plan to delay providing second doses of the vaccine — a “science-based approach that takes into account the limited vaccine we have early on in the program here in the province.”
The plan is to administer a first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible, delaying the second doses for one or two weeks. Officials say the plan allows for another 150,000 high-risk people in B.C. to be vaccinated.
The first dose stimulates or “primes” a person’s immune system to produce antibodies and cell immunity and recognize the virus. The second dose is a “boost” to make the vaccine more durable and longer lasting.
Under the province’s plan, the second dose will be given 35 days later rather than the manufacturer-recommended 21 to 28 days.
The province has taken guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization in Canada, she said. Recommendations from immunization committees in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries have also been reviewed.
Trial data show no difference between those who received a second dose after 19 days compared to 42 days, Henry said, adding that the World Health Organization and NACI have extended the recommended interval for COVID-19 vaccine doses to 42 days.
A total of 1,475 new COVID-19 cases were reported in B.C. on Monday. Fraser Health saw the most cases, with 736, while Island Health saw the fewest, with 59.
Twenty-two additional deaths were announced, bringing the total to date to 1,010. One of the new deaths was in the Island Health region, which has now had 13 deaths linked to COVID-19.
There are 5,220 people with active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 358 of whom are in hospital including 72 in intensive or critical care.
To date, 58,107 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in B.C.
Six new outbreaks in long-term care facilities — including Hart House in Victoria — were reported, and there are outbreaks in 10 acute care facilities.
One staff member at Hart House, a long-term care home owned and operated by Trillium Communities, has tested positive. The facility is not associated with Heart House, a non-profit association operated by the First Open Heart Society of B.C.
At Chartwell Malaspina Care Residence in Nanaimo, seven residents and one staff have tested positive, with no new cases since Jan. 6.
There is one known staff case at Ts’i’ts’uwatul’ Lelum assisted living. Testing of residents has been negative.
