The National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued guidance today allowing for people who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine as their first dose to get an mRNA vaccine for their second. A study in the United Kingdom reported last month that mixing AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech as first and second doses led to more reports of short-lived side-effects like fevers and fatigue but was otherwise safe. The Spanish study concluded a second dose of Pfizer after a first dose of AstraZeneca produced more than twice the antibodies as a second dose of AstraZeneca. All provinces paused the use

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 on three periods. From May 28 to May 29, we had 258 new cases. From May 29 to May 30, we had 238 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we had a further 212 new cases."This results in a total of 708 new cases, for a total of 144,289 cases in British Columbia."There are 2,953 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 139,562 people who tested positive have recovered."Of the acti

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is signalling he supports N-D-P Leader Jagmeet Singh's call for an emergency debate on the discovery of Indigenous childrens' remains. The remains of more than 200 children were found on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, BC. Trudeau also says he will speak to the three cabinet ministers who oversee Indigenous policy. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he was appalled at hearing of the discovery of at least 215 Indigenous children's bodies found on the grounds of a former residential school in British Columbia. Trudeau says Canadians cannot hi

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked that flags on all federal buildings be flown at half-mast in honour of the lives of 215 children whose remains were found at a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C.Trudeau says he has made the request, which will include the Peace Tower flag, to honour all Indigenous children who "never made it home", the survivors of the school and their families.Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation in British Columbia said the remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were confirmed last weekend with the help of groun

British Columbia health officials say COVID-19 is still spreading with new cases and clusters as the province begins to reopen in a four-step plan. In a news release, they say it is important to get vaccinated while maintaining social distance and using masks to stay safe during this period of transition. Officials say there has been a COVID-19 outbreak at a long-term care facility, Brookside Lodge in Surrey, where one resident and a staff member have tested positive. The province reported 317 new cases of the infection for a total of 143,581. They also reported two more deaths, brining the n

Procurement Minister Anita Anand says Canada has confirmed shipments of 15 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines from three suppliers. She says every eligible Canadian will have access to a second dose by the end of the summer. She says 2.4 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech will arrive each week over five weeks in June and nine million more will arrive in July. As announced yesterday, she says Moderna has provided an updated delivery schedule for the first part of June, with 500,000 doses in two shipments starting next week. She also says 1.5 million doses of Moderna are arriving the week of

The remains of 215 children have been found buried on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C. Chief Rosanne Casimir of the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc First Nation says in a news release that the remains were confirmed last weekend with the help of a ground-penetrating radar specialist.Casimir calls the discovery an ``unthinkable loss that was spoken about but never documented at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.''She says it's believed the deaths are undocumented, although a local museum archivist is working with the Royal British Columbia Museum to see if any records of t

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the time between COVID-19 vaccinations is being reduced to eight weeks from the former maximum of 16 weeks. Dr. Henry says the province has sufficient supplies of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to make the change. She says everyone who is eligible should have their second dose of vaccine by the end of the summer. Dr. Henry says the province will try to provide people with the same vaccine for their booster shot, but a shortage of Moderna may mean some people will have to get a Pfizer shot instead. Adrian Dix on Twitter: With the large numb

Members of a critical incident response team are working at a Kelowna, B.C., high school helping students cope with the loss of three Grade 12 classmates. The three Kelowna Senior Secondary students were in a Honda Civic sedan that RCMP say hit a utility pole in the city just after midnight Wednesday.An 18-year-old woman who was driving and two passengers, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl, died at the scene.The three were set to graduate within weeks and School District 23 Superintendent Kevin Kardaal says a specialized team of grief counsellors is at the school.He says students and