COVID-19 second-dose vaccine wait times may drop with more supply, says Dr. Henry

The expected arrival of more than one million COVID-19 vaccine doses this month has British Columbia health officials forecasting shorter waits between first and second doses for more people.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the increasing vaccine shipments could see the estimated 16-week interval between the first and second shots reduced.

But Dr. Henry says it's still too early to concretely estimate the possible difference in wait times other than saying all people in B.C. could get their first vaccines before Canada Day.

She says B.C. expects to receive 1.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this month along with more shipments of the Moderna vaccine.

B.C. reported 2,174 new COVID-19 cases since Friday and 15 deaths, bringing the provincial death toll to 1,596 people.

Also Monday, the Opposition Liberals say the party's finance critic, Mike Bernier, is self-isolating after likely contracting COVID-19 on his return home to Dawson Creek, a community recently declared a pandemic hot zone.