All long-term care staff and residents in B.C. have been offered COVID-19 vaccine: Dr. Bonnie Henry; 514 new cases and 5 deaths reported

BC's provincial health officer says the recent announcements about a drop in COVID-19 vaccine availability took her by surprise.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says next week's supply of the Moderna vaccine will be reduced by 20 per cent, combined with previous vaccine shortfalls announced by Pfizer.

She says more than 124,000 people have received a dose of vaccine, and all long-term care staff and residents have been offered it, which she says makes her feel relieved.

Dr. Henry says it will be a challenging few weeks after seeing the benefits of a consistent supply of vaccines.

But she says the federal government has assured B-C that vaccine shortfalls from both Pfizer and Moderna will be made up before the end of the first quarter of this year.

BC reported 514 new cases of COVID-19 today, for a total of 55 thousand 779.