A woman in BC has been hospitalized with a rare blood clot associated with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the first such reaction reported in the province. Provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says the woman contacted her family doctor when she had symptoms five or six days after being vaccinated. Dr. Henry urged people to be alert to the symptoms, which range from a persistent and severe headache to difficulty moving parts of your body, and back, or chest or abdominal pain. However, she also defended the vaccine, saying AstraZeneca has played an important role in BC's immunization

Fraser Health has expanded its immunization capacity in anticipation of an increase in vaccine supply coming to the Province. Register and book your appointment today to get your shot as soon as possible. Fraser Health is supporting a registration drive to remove any barriers to people registering for a COVID-19 vaccination. To do this, there will be a number of registration kiosks where staff and volunteers will register anyone 18 years and older, and, for those eligible, Fraser Health will also help book the vaccination appointments at the same time. Appointments may be available the same da

Canada achieved a new milestone in its vaccination program Wednesday, surpassing the vaccination rate in the United States for the first time. The Our World in Data project that tracks vaccinations given around the world, says on May 5, the United States injected doses at a rate of 6.4 doses for every 1,000 people. Canada injected 6.6 doses for every 1,000 people. Canada has been inching closer to the U.S.'s rate for weeks now, as supplies of vaccines shipped into Canada increased in April, and the United States has been slowing, after getting at least one dose to 44 per cent of Americans, an

Under order by the Supreme Court, India's government has agreed to provide more medical oxygen to hospitals in the capital, potentially easing a 2-week-old shortage that worsened the country's exploding coronavirus crisis.Officials also denied reports that they have been slow in distributing life-saving supplies donated from abroad.The Supreme Court intervened in the supply of oxygen in New Delhi after 12 COVID-19 patients, including a senior doctor, died at a hospital when it ran out of oxygen for 80 minutes last week.On Thursday, the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases breached 400,00

British Columbia youths aged 12 to 17 years old could soon be getting COVID-19 vaccines, and possibly before the end of the school year. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says they're looking at ways to immunize young people with their first dose by the end of June now that Health Canada has approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those 12 and older. She says the province is looking at best ways to provide the vaccine to young people, including the option of running clinics in schools. Dr. Henry says she understands some people have concerns about vaccine risks, especially for those

Canada is sending desperately needed medical supplies to India as the COVID-19 pandemic there spirals out of control. Global Affairs Canada says a shipment will include 25-thousand vials of the antiviral drug remdesivir and up to 350 ventilators from its emergency stockpile. The Canadian military will airlift the supplies to the subcontinent. India's COVID-19 deaths reached a new high of three-thousand, 780 in the last 24-hours as daily infections rose by more than 382,000. Foreign Policy CAN on Twitter: Minister Garneau and his Indian counterpart @DrSJaishankar had a warm virtual meeting at

Health Canada's chief medical adviser says her advice is still to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as you can, with whatever vaccine you can. Dr. Supriya Sharma says the risk of a new blood clotting syndrome from the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot is extremely low. A third Canadian has now died of the syndrome, a New Brunswick resident in their 60s. This morning, Canada became the first country in the world to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for kids as young as 12, effective immediately. Dr. Sharma says that as early as next week, Health Canada could begin examining whether people who

Homicide investigators have now taken over the case after the death of a woman injured Tuesday night in a shooting in Surrey, B.C. A social media message from the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team confirmed the unnamed victim died in hospital. Surrey RCMP say officers responded to reports of shots fired in a residential neighbourhood of northeast Surrey just before 9 p.m. Tuesday. Officers located the victim and arrested a man a short distance away. Police have not confirmed a motive for the attack. It's the latest in a string of targeted shootings in Metro Vancouver in recent days, incl

Health Canada says the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can now be given to kids as young as 12.The vaccine was previously authorized for anyone at least 16 years of age or older.A trial of more than 2,200 youth in that age group in the United States recorded no cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated kids.Health Canada's chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma says the evidence is there that the vaccine is safe and effective in that age group.It is the first vaccine approved for children in Canada, and Sharma says it is a significant step forward in Canada's fight against COVID-19.The trial used the same