B.C. will administer first COVID-19 vaccines tomorrow

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The first British Columbians to get the COVID-19 vaccine will be doing so Tuesday.

They’ll be health-care workers in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health regions and then province-wide availability will follow next week.

“This is momentous news,” Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday. ” And the first step in our path to protecting people most at risk in our communities and taking the pressure off our health care system so that care is available for all of us who need it across the province.”

Ontario and Quebec administered their first vaccines earlier in the day after doses arrived Sunday night.

Pfizer is the first vaccine to be approved in Canada, but it requires delicate conditions so its movement is restricted. The Moderna vaccine is expected to follow suit soon, and Henry said it will make it easier for wider distribution, including to residents in long-term care.

B.C. surpasses 600 COVID-19 deaths

Henry also reported 49 deaths and 2,146 new COVID-19 infections since Friday.

BC's #covid19 update Dec 14
49 deaths-647
Sa 698,Su 689, Mo 759 (2146)
42943 total
31207 Recovered
Hosp/ICU(342/87)359/87
Active (9589)10039
Isolated (12008)11177
VCH(10236)+300
FH(25867)+1474
Int(2601)+250
Island(758)+29
North(1240)+91
Non-res(98)+2#bcpoli @NEWS1130

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) December 14, 2020

Fraser Health continues to see the majority of new cases and lives lost to the virus. Twenty-eight of the people who died over the weekend were from the region.

Speaking now, Health Minister @adriandix confirms 28 deaths in @Fraserhealth 18 in @VCHhealthcare and 3 in @Northern_Health regions.

He says faith leaders from across #BC met with him, Henry and Premier @jjhorgan via phone conference this morning.#bcpoli @NEWS1130

— Marcella Bernardo (@Bernardo1130) December 14, 2020

“We pick up the risk from where we’ve been and we take it to where we go,” she said. “If we’re around people who are vulnerable and more likely to end up in hospital to get sick, then we’re putting them at risk, so we need to step back, stay with our household, make sure we’re not the ones bringing this into our community or to people that we care the most about.”

While Henry referenced the vaccine eventually easing the strain on the health-care system, hospitalizations due to the virus continue to rise to the highest number yet, 359. Of those, 87 patients are in intensive care.

Active cases have also gone up to a record 10,039.

BC #covid19 update Dec 14
Record deaths *49* in a weekend (14.7/day avg in Dec)
Record active cases
Record hospitalizations
Record number of active cases in LTC care (residents & staff)
Daily cases remain consistent & high in all authorities#bcpoli #bced @NEWS1130 https://t.co/PKC2yx1acH pic.twitter.com/cg05vZbzAz

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) December 14, 2020

Six outbreaks have ended in health-care settings, but another three were confirmed.

Henry said no gatherings or events are safe right now and she recommended creative solutions to meeting in-person this year.

Dr. Henry offers holiday alternatives:
Contactless drop off stocking stuffers
Big screen zoom dinner
Same meal/table décor
Cooking at distance
Family/friends meal delivery
Holiday playlists
Zoom karaoke (Dr Henry jokes she won’t be invited by those who know her singing talents)

— Lasia Kretzel (@lkretzel1130) December 14, 2020

“We have to be cautious because we are so close,” she said. “We cannot let up now.”