Monday April 12, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Editor | Island Social Trends
There is a new schedule for age cohorts to register for the COVID vaccine in BC, as announced by BC Health Minister Adrian Dix around 11 am today, Monday April 12,
• Mon, April 12 – Born 1966 or earlier (55+)
• Wed, April 14 – Born 1971 or earlier (50+)
• Fri, April 16 – Born 1976 or earlier (45+)
• Mon, April 19 – Born 1981 or earlier (40+)
The ‘Get Vaccinated’ portal is available online, for registrations. Once registered, you will receive an email or phone call to then book an appointment for your vaccine.
Immunization progress:
As of this past weekend, about 20% of the adult population in BC had received a first dose of COVID vaccine.
There are three types of COVID vaccines being used in BC: Pfizer and Moderna (both are mRNA type) and AstraZeneca (viral vector type).
Dix calls Pfizer “the workhorse vaccine” based on its reliable and ample supply. The Pfizer is used almost entirely in the government-organized community-based clinics (as well as long-term care top-ups in that continually changing environment for residents and workers), as well as the Moderna product when available.
At this time, the AstraZeneca product is only being administered in people ages 55 to 65 years. There are now six pharmacies in the west shore (Langford and Colwood) now administering the AstraZeneca vaccine by appointment; pharmacies can be contacted directly – Costco, Walmart, Pharmasave Millstream, Medicine Shoppe (on Jacklin), and Peoples (on Sooke Road in Colwood).
Robust third wave:
Last week Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry said that all COVID cases are now being treated as if caused by one of the variants (B.1.1.7, B.1.351, or P.1), given the prevalence of the variants in the test profiles.
As of Friday April 9 there had been 109,540 COVID cases to date in BC, with the daily average of the past week topping 1,000 cases. There were 9,574 active cases heading into the weekend, with a record number of people (15,673) self-isolating due to exposure.
While cases levels are less strident on Vancouver Island than on the BC Lower mainland, new cases continue to roll in (54 new cases in Island Health on Friday April 9) and active cases are at a top level of 569.
Next live update:
The next livestreamed update by Dr Henry and Minister Dix is today April 12 at 3 pm.
