Friday June 18, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Editor | Island Social Trends
It’s sports all the way for this Premier! For his second COVID vaccination dose — done today in Victoria — John Horgan was wearing a mask with the BC Lions logo, and last time for his first dose back in April he wore a Victoria Shamrocks mask.
But there was no mixing and matching of the vaccine type… getting AstraZeneca both times, and still promoting the mantra that ‘the best vaccine is the one you’re offered’.
In BC and across Canada there is debate and possibly even confusion and distress among people who are deciding which type of vaccine to get (mRNA or viral vector), and among those which brand (mRNA type is Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna).
While Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry has recently said that mixing and matching is both safe and effective, she said last week that her personal preference is to follow “vaccination fundamentals” and thereby stick to the same type of vaccine for each of the two shots.
The COVID vaccine process is considered complete with two shots — a first dose followed by a booster after a recommended interval of time. Currently in BC the recommended interval between shots is 10 to 11 weeks. Manufacturers were recommending an 8-week interval at first, based on their initial trial data very early on in the pandemic.
This week, Dr Henry said that further booster (third dose) might be required during the upcoming respiratory season (normally seeing a lot of influenza and the common cold, but now will also include COVID) which will likely run from September 2021 through to March or April of 2022.
Ongoing pandemic:
The COVID-19 pandemic has lasted 16 months and still continues, though economies are opening up out of necessity but with the gift of modern science (i.e. vaccines) paving the way. BC Centre for Disease Control data to June 18, 2021 shows:
- BC CASES: There have been 146,902 test-positive cases of the SARS-CoV-2 (aka COVID-19) infection in BC, with 7,894 people hospitalized, and 1,740 people have died from the disease.
- VANCOUVER ISLAND CASES: There has been a total of 5,145 cases in Island Health, with 251 people hospitalized and 41 islanders have died from the disease.
- BC IMMUNIZATION: So far 4,296,151 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, with 823,371 of those being second doses.
- VANCOUVER ISLAND IMMUNIZATION: So far, 706,092 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, with 121,355 of those being second doses.
Step 2 of Restart:
Presently BC is in Step 2 of the BC Restart economic and social recovery phase. Step 2 started June 15 based on Dr Henry’s assessment that first vaccinations are high enough and that case counts and hospitalizations are low enough.
Step 2 allows for outdoor personal gatherings of up to 50 people and indoor gatherings of up to five people (or one additional household).
===== LINKS:
Get Vaccinated (BC Government website to register for your COVID-19 vaccination)
BC Restart Plan 2021 (BC Government website – four steps)
BC Centre for Disease Control – COVID section