B.C. COVID update Thursday: 120 new cases, Dr. Henry still supporting AZ vaccine

British Columbia announced 120 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up slightly from Wednesday’s 113.

Of the new cases 43 were in Interior Health, with 13 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 53 in Fraser Health, five in Island Health, five in Northern Health and one for a person who normally resides outside Canada.

There are 1,451 active cases with 131 people in hospital with COVID, 44 in critical or intensive care.

There is one new death, a person in their 80s who died in Richmond hospital, raising the overall death toll to 1,739.

Over 4.2 million COVID vaccines have gone into arms in B.C., with 76.5 per cent of adults (18 and over) getting at least one dose, and 74.8 per cent of those 12 and older.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said invitations going to out to “tens of thousand of people” everyday to get their second doses.

She said challenges will slow delivery of Pfizer vaccines in July, with reduced supply the first two weeks.

However, Henry said B.C. will be getting “a lot of Moderna this week” and both MRNA vaccines are safe and effective and can be interchanged.

Henry also commented on the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations and Canada’s top doctor saying today it’s best to get a second dose of an MRNA vaccine, like Pfizer or Moderna, if you have had a first dose of AstraZeneca. Dr. Theresa Tam said studies show there’s a better immune response with a mixture of AstraZeneca and the other vaccines.

“This is not surprising to us,” said Dr. Henry. “It’s based on preliminary data from a study in Germany with a small number of people. It’s based on measuring of the immune system response, and it showed people who had the MRNA vaccine after a dose of AstraZeneca had good, or better, immune markers afterwards.”

Henry said they still don’t know if it translates into better protection in the real world, and she says vaccine effectiveness is still good with both the AstraZeneca and MRNA vaccines.

“The bottom line is the real world experience and evidence shows we have good protection across the board with both vaccines, both approaches are highly effective,” Henry stated.

“Here in B.C., our advice has not changed. You make the choice that is right for you because all the vaccines that we have are safe and highly effective, and so are all of the options,” Henry added.

The province’s top doctor said there are studies underway that may show a need for a third booster dose.