British Columbia shortens gap between 1st and 2nd dose of COVID vaccine to 28 days – Victoria News

Province now shortens wait time between first and second dose to 28 days as cases increase in parts of British Columbia

Provincial health worker Dr Bonnie Henry said the move was aimed at getting people in communities with epidemics and higher transmission rates vaccinated earlier, with a focus on the center of the Okanagan hit hard. Henry said that as of tonight, around 170,000 people will be notified that they are now eligible for their second dose. This process can take a few days, she added.

“We are experiencing community epidemics, particularly in the central Okanagan and increasing rates of virus cases, especially in pockets where we have unvaccinated people, or where we see people with just one dose of vaccine. “said Henry.

The vast majority of cases, she noted, continue to spread among young people at social gatherings when these people are not vaccinated.

However, she said people who live and work in communities and settings with low transmission of COVID-19 will still get a higher level of protection if they wait the seven to eight weeks that British Columbia previously needed. between doses.

“Right now we have to balance the risk of the epidemiology that we are seeing and the need to protect people as much as possible, knowing that we have a lot of transmission of highly transmissible strains here in the province, both Gamma and Delta, ”added Henry. Delta currently accounts for 95% of new cases in the province.

Henry said that despite groundbreaking case reports due to the Delta variant, the “vast majority of cases” still involve people who are partially or fully unvaccinated.

She said the risk with the Delta variant, which is more contagious than previous ones, is that once it enters higher risk environments like long-term care facilities, it can still spread.

Regarding booster doses, Henry said it is not yet clear when they will be needed and who will need them.

“At this time, there is no indication that particularly young and healthy people who get vaccinated at 28 days need a booster,” she said. “But it looks like there might be a case to provide a third dose to some people whose immune systems haven’t responded to those one and two,” including people who have had an organ transplant or are undergoing certain forms of cancer treatment.

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