Thursday March 18, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc, Editor | Island Social Trends
Everyone in BC is now on track to receive a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine products by the end of June, as outlined today in a long presentation with three key speakers: Premier John Horgan, Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry, and Immunization rollout executive lead Dr Penny Ballem. Also answering media questions was Health Minister Adrian Dix.
This comes on a day when the COVID-19 daily case count is quite high at 622 (35 of those in Island Health), with one of the highest-yet tallies of people (9,620) self-isolating due to known exposure. Hospitalization numbers remain stubborn: 286 in hospital of whom 85 are in ICU.
Among the new cases today are 136 confirmed as having resulted from one of the variants-of-concern (with the B.1.1.7 UK variant being currently the most prevalent in BC). Eight more deaths were reported today, bringing the BC total to 1,419.
Premier Horgan today emphasized once again that all of this immunization planning is dependent on offshore supply (as procured through the federal government). He noted that “hundreds of thousands of seniors” have already been vaccinated, and that people in the age 70 to 79 year grouping (comprised of about 347,647 people) will begin their appointments in the days ahead (specifically starting with age 79 on Saturday March 20).
The new immunization plan unveiled today “can protect more people faster”, said Horgan.
Dr Henry opened her remarks today around the flexibility that the incoming AstraZeneca vaccine product will provide for immunizing about 60,000 frontline workers in the grocery industry.
Industries that experience the highest risk will be targeted first; that includes four large food production facilities on Vancouver Island, she said (which Island Health today would not yet identify).
Dr Henry was enthusiastic about how data in the vaccination appointment/rollout computer system will help public health “look and take a pause to reflect” on how the rollout is progressing and where adaptations might be required.
Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry during Immunization Plan update on March 18, 2021.
She noted that postal workers — upon whom many of us depend for receiving all those items we’ve purchased by online orders — are among the prioritized frontline workers (notably those who work in large mail processing facilities).
Dr Henry used a new phrase today — “duty of reciprocity” — as part of her explanation for including first responders (firefighters and police) at the front end of the prioritized vaccine rollout. Workers in that sector serve society in dangerous frontline scenarios without hesitation, and it’s the responsible thing to do to protect them as soon as possible.
She looks forward to pharmacies being part of the immunization rollout pretty much starting in Phase 3. Pharmacies have, for years, delivered vaccinations during flu season and for people planning to go on international travels.
Dr Henry is concerned about the prevailing B.1.1.7 (UK) variant being prevalent in the test-positive cases of COVID-19. That variant is more transmissible than the virus which arrived at the start of the pandemic.
- There have been 1,132 variant cases to date (out of the total 90,049 COVID cases in the pandemic so far), of which 143 are currently active: 1,040 B.1.1.7 (UK); 41 B.1.351 (South Africa); and 51 P.1 (Brazil).
- The current mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna seem to work well against the UK and South Africa variants, said Dr Henry, but adding that the P.1 (Brazil) vaccine could be more resistant to current vaccines.
Dr Henry concluded her opening remarks with a reminder that “we all need to do our part to reduce transmission as we protect more and more people”.
Dr Ballem said the new program will see about 20,000 people per day being vaccinated against COVID-19. But she emphasized that the planning and administration process is a “fluid environment” that requires “being nimble”.
She was careful to emphasize that some supply is being held back to deal with outbreaks and also to cover for appointments that have already been booked but which could otherwise fall short of supply if incoming supplies through federal procurement are less than presently anticipated.
Dr Ballem pointed out that BC’s vaccination-by-appointment approach is preventing people from having to wait in long lineups. She pointed out that people are “more relaxed, confident and safer” once they have booked an appointment, even if there’s a bit of a waiting period until the appointment day comes.
She pointed out that Island Health has more people in the 70 to 79 year-old age cohort than other health authorities in BC.
People who are clinically vulnerable (e.g. immuno-suppressed due to cancer treatment or other therapies) will receive vaccines in clinics as well as through various programs through the Public Health Services Authority.
Phases 2 & 3:
Priority frontline workers will now be able to receive a vaccine in March to May. The timeline for the general population under the age of 80 has been accelerated within Phase 2. Phase 3 includes people age 70 to 79 (who will now receive their vaccinations in April) and people in their 60s (who will receive vaccinations by the end of May).
After Phase 2 the locations for receiving vaccines will shift from only being at large community centers to also include pharmacies and doctors’ offices starting in Phase 3. Though the logistics of that were not laid out in any detail today.
Starting in Phase 3, the booking of vaccination appointments can be done online (as well as by phone), which will also assist the BC Centre for Disease Control in tracking more immunization details.
A vicious enemy:
Health Minister Adrian Dix today said quite notably today that “COVID-19 is a vicious enemy”, adding that “we need to have absolute compassion for everyone” who is dealing with the viral infection head-on.
Dix reminded people who’ve not been diagnosed with test-positive COVID-19 infection to be thankful for that.
“The virus can still transmit,” said Dix, even if a person has been immunized. If immunized, people still need to follow all COVID-19 public health protocols until herd immunity is achieved.
In the meantime immunization reduces the incidence of serious illness and death.
Vancouver Island focus:
Included in the priority rollout with the AstraZeneca vaccine this month on Vancouver Island will be four large food production facilities (yet to be identified), said Dr Henry today. There are 1,000 doses to be applied in high-priority settings on Vancouver Island, it was stated today. This is to help prevent or manage outbreaks of COVID-19 infection that could otherwise spread into the community and impact health-care workers.
New COVID-19 cases today in Island Health tally at 35, bringing the island total to 2,835. Of those, 236 cases are active. By age, it should be noted that 190 children under age 10 have contracted COVID-19 on Vancouver Island, with 341 youth ages 10 to 19 also having tested positive.
Consistently, the largest number of COVID-19 cases in Island Health have been in the central Vancouver Island region. Pandemic-to-date there have been 751 cases in the south, 1,596 central, and 475 in the north.
Nine people are hospitalized (three in ICU); 153 total hospitalizations to date. There have been 28 deaths due to COVID-19 within Island Health, pandemic-to-date.
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===== LINKS:
Island Health COVID dashboard (updated daily, Mon-Fri)