Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued a joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia. "Today, we are reporting that 74.5% of all adults in B.C. and 72.4% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 3,749,758 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 390,264 of which are second doses."We have had 148 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 145,843 cases in British Columbia."Of the new cases, 23 are in

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada will have enough vaccine delivered for 80 per cent of eligible Canadians to be fully vaccinated by the end of July. Only people over the age of 12 are able to get vaccinated currently, with Pfizer and Moderna hoping to submit data from trials on younger children in the fall. Anand says there are now confirmed deliveries of 55 million doses by July 31, about 70 per cent of it from Pfizer-BioNTech. That is enough to give two doses to more than 27 million people. Currently, Canada has given one dose to 23.8 million people and both doses to 3.3 million

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is suggesting a probable link between Sunday's deadly attack on a Muslim family in London, Ont., and online hate. ``We just had a terrible tragedy a couple of nights ago, where a Muslim family three generations out for a walk on the side of the road, and they were viciously and inexplicably rundown deliberately,'' Trudeau said this morning during an online conference on government and the internet. ``And we don't yet know all the causes or reasons, but there is probably an element of online invitation to violence or access to things that we have to think about.''

Health officials in British Columbia say it's encouraging to see a steady increase in the number of people who are protected with a COVID-19 vaccine as cases decline. However, of the nearly 3.7 million doses of vaccine that have been administered, less than 346,000 are second doses. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say the province has recorded 165 new infections and no additional deaths as part of its exit out of the pandemic. There are currently 2,051 active cases of COVID-19 in B.C., and of the 203 people in hospital, 57 are in intensive care. Peopl

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the attack in London, Ont., that killed four members of a Muslim family and left one child in hospital was an act of terrorism.After observing a moment of silence for the victims, Trudeau spoke in the House of Commons and called the incident ``a terrorist attack, motivated by hatred.''Police say a man intentionally drove a truck into the family who were out for a walk on Sunday evening and he targeted them because of their faith.Trudeau says he's horrified by the attack and that his government stands in solidarity with the victims' loved ones during this ext

British Columbia's deputy provincial health officer is encouraging residents to register for a second dose of vaccine as the province heads toward a return to normal life with declining COVID-19 cases and rising vaccination rates. Dr. Reka Gustafson says B.C. recorded 481 cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths over three days while 199 people are in hospital. A total of 511 people were in hospital at the height of the pandemic, with 183 patients in intensive care. Gustafson says 72 per cent of residents 12 and over have now received a first dose of vaccine as the province pushes to get second doses

The mayor of London, Ontario says a man who allegedly drove a car into a family standing on a street corner committed an act of ``mass murder.'' Police say the victims were targeted because of their Islamic faith and they have assigned a special team of investigators who deal with hate crimes. Mayor Ed Holder says such an act of hatred must be followed by acts of compassion and solidarity with Muslims. Two women aged 74 and 44, a 46 year old man and a 15 year old girl were killed, and a 9 year old boy was seriously injured. Police have charged 20 year old Nathaniel Veltman with four counts of

Moderna is applying to Health Canada today for its COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in teenagers. The Massachusetts-based company says a trial of 2,500 youth aged 12 to 17 in the United States indicated the vaccine was 93 per cent to 100 per cent effective against COVID-19.Moderna is the second vaccine maker to apply for approval for youth; the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was authorized for kids as young as 16 in December and for youth 12 to 15 years old in May. Both companies continue to test their vaccines on children as young as six months with hopes to apply for authorization by the fa

Health officials in British Columbia say they are gearing up for a busy month as the province works on the rollout of its second doses of COVID-19 vaccinations. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix say in a joint statement that 72.4 per cent of all adults in B.C. have received a first dose of a vaccine. They say clinics will be busy dealing with second doses as well as the province's vaccination program for those 12 and older. B.C. recorded 183 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, for a total of 145,049 cases since the pandemic began. It's the fourth straight