Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, today (June 18) issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia.

Today, we are reporting that 76.7% of all adults in B.C. and 75.1% of those 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 4,296,151 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 823,371 of which are second doses.

We have had 109 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 146,902 cases in British Columbia.

Of the new cases, 13 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 65 are in the Fraser Health region, 26 are in the Interior Health region and five are in the Northern Health region. There are no new cases in the Island Health region.

There are currently 1,389 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 143,748 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 128 individuals are currently hospitalized, 48 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 1,740 deaths in British Columbia. Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19.

Being fully vaccinated – with both doses – gives you and those around you maximum protection, which is why we encourage everyone to book your second dose as soon as you are eligible.

Our supply varies week by week. As a result, while the teams at our mass vaccine clinics will do their best to provide the same mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) for both doses, this may not always be possible. You may be offered the other mRNA vaccine instead.

Interchangeability, having a different mRNA vaccine for your second dose, does not impact effectiveness or safety. All of our vaccines are safe and highly effective and that is the case whether you have the same or different vaccine for your second dose.

Getting fully vaccinated with two doses of World Health Organization-approved vaccines in use in Canada today also ensures you will be able to travel when it is once again safe to do so.

This weekend, for Father’s Day, let’s do our part and honour our fathers by protecting them with our own COVID-19 vaccine.

Lead image: COVID-19 safety breakfast ordering instructions in the Radium Hot Springs Prestige Hotel prior to the end of the circuit breaker shutdown. Carrie Schafer/e-KNOW photo

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