16.81°C Vancouver 16.81°C Vancouver
May 18, 2021 1:57 AM -
Health officials are reporting 1,360 new cases of COVID-19 over the past three days for an average of 453 each day.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says 14 more people have died, pushing the death toll in BC to 1,648.
There are 350 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 132 in intensive care.
Dr. Henry says more than 55 per cent of eligible people aged 18 and up have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and all remaining adults need to book appointments as soon as possible.
British Columbia's provincial health officer says those who received the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine will have a choice about which vaccine they want for their second.
Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province has about 20,000 doses in stock and they don't expire until the end of June, around the time many of those second doses are due.
She says further information from studies on the effectiveness of mixing and matching vaccines will be available in early June and that data will be shared to help residents make informed decisions.
Dr. Henry says there are benefits to waiting up to 12 weeks for a second dose because it allows time for the body to develop more antibodies and other protections after the first.
But given the supply of all vaccines flowing into the province, she also says it's likely that all British Columbians will have access to a second dose sooner than planned.
Health Minister Adrian Dix says about 276,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 142,000 doses of Moderna are expected to arrive this week.
