COVID-19: B.C. records 109 cases, one death ahead of Father’s Day weekend

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Ahead of Father’s Day this Sunday, B.C.’s top doctor is asking British Columbians to protect their dads by getting a COVID-19 vaccination.

“This weekend, for Father’s Day, let’s do our part and honour our fathers by protecting them with our own COVID-19 vaccine,” reads a statement from Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix. “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.”

Over the last 24 hours, B.C. recorded 109 new cases of COVID-19 and for a total of 146,902 since the pandemic began. One more person has died of the virus, bringing the provincial total to 1,740.

BC #covid19 Jun 18
109 New-146902 total
1 death-total 1740
Recovered 143748
VCH(35297)+13
FH(85428)+65
Int(12945)+26
Island(5145)+0
North(7775)+5
Hosp/ICU(131/44)128/48
Active(1451)1389
LTC/acute(3/0)3/0
Vax+64280,+55363 2nd-823371 fully vax
76.7% 18+,75.1% 12+ #bcpoli @news1130

— LizaYuzda (@LizaYuzda) June 18, 2021

Of the new cases, 13 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health, 65 in the Fraser Health, 26 in the Interior Health, and five are in Northern Health. In all, there are 1,389 active cases of COVID-19, with 128 people in hospital, down from 131 on Thursday. Of the hospitalizations, 48 are in intensive care, up from 44 on Thursday.

In total, 4,296,151 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered, 823,371 of which are second doses. The numbers mean 76.7 per cent of all adults in B.C. and 75.1 per cent of those aged 12 and older have now received their first dose.

Related articles

• B.C.’s approach to AstraZeneca unchanged after NACI recommendation
• Pfizer, Moderna vaccines now preferred second dose for AstraZeneca recipients: NACI
• Canada getting surprise shipment of 1M Moderna doses from U.S.

On Thursday, Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization’s (NACI) recommended people who received AstraZeneca for their first shot get an mRNA (Pfizer or Moderna) vaccine for their second dose to ensure the best possible immunity. B.C. is still offering AstraZeneca as second shots to anyone who received it as their first dose.

“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,” the statement reads. “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.”