British Columbia to use remaining AstraZeneca vaccine for second doses

British Columbia will be holding its remaining stock of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to use as second doses for residents.

Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say the change is due to the limited availability of the vaccine.

The pair say in a joint statement all currently scheduled vaccination appointments through pharmacies will proceed, but no additional appointments will be booked.

British Columbia reported 600 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and 5,887 active infections, for a total of 137,223 since the pandemic began.

It also reported one new death, bringing the death toll to 1,625. Several other provinces including Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec announced new restrictions on the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week.