The province’s mass COVID-19 vaccination rollout isn’t slowing down the pandemic.
B.C. added 997 new cases today.
That includes 356 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, including Powell River is a part of, and 67 in the Island Health region.
There have been two new COVID-19 related deaths.
There are currently 3,766 confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province. Additional whole genome sequencing has not been completed since the last report.
Of the total cases, 266 are active and the remaining people have recovered.
Of the active cases, 330 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 105 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Meanwhile, 946,096 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,504 of which are second doses.
This accounts for almost 20 percent of those who are eligible for a vaccine in B.C.
Provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, says the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations “provided clear advice on vaccine doses, confirming that up to 16 weeks between doses provides for the greatest level of community-wide protection and is therefore optimal for everyone, irrespective of any underlying health condition.”
Dr. Henry added that the pandemic has proven to be ever changing, and the province is also continuing to evolve and adapt its pandemic response.
“As part of this, we are actively monitoring and screening for all of the virus strains to understand how they may impact us and what additional action may be required to keep our communities safe,” she added.
“We know that no matter what mutation may be prevalent, following all of the public health orders and using all of our layers of protection – without exception – is the best thing we can do to keep ourselves and each other safe.
“We all have a choice – to bend the rules, or do our part to flatten our curve. No matter how tired of this pandemic we may be, let’s make the right choice today.”
