Vaccine approval lifts hopes of officials

On the same day the federal government announced the approval of a third COVID -19 vaccine, B.C. recorded four additional deaths and 589 new cases of the disease.

The majority of the cases — 317 — occurred in the populous Fraser Health Region; 157 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 39 in Interior Health, 45 in Northern Health, and 31 in Island Health. In total, there have been 79,262 cases of COVID-19 and 1,355 deaths in B.C. since the start of the pandemic.

Out of the total cases, 4,665 are considered active. Out of the active cases, 232 people are in hospital, including 63 in intensive care. The remaining people are at home in self-isolation.

On Friday, the B.C. provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, and Health Minister Adrian Dix welcomed the federal government's announcement of the approval of the Oxford-astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

“This new vaccine will be integrated into our provincial immunization program as delivery and supply is confirmed in the coming weeks,” said Henry and Dix in a joint statement issued Friday afternoon. “The additional supply will allow us to look at accelerating immunization of priority populations and essential workers.”

The two-dose viral vector vaccine is considered “fridge stable,” making it easier to transport and distribute than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have to be stored in extremely cold temperatures. It has shown to be 62 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID -19 starting from two weeks after the second dose, said Health Canada.