Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the interval between first and second doses of vaccine could shorten. (Flickr/Gov't of BC)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

covid-19 update

60 new COVID-19 cases in Island Health; interval between vaccine doses likely to shrink

May 3, 2021 | 4:01 PM

NANAIMO — The province says a substantial addition to vaccine supply could have positive ripple effects throughout B.C.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry on Monday, May 3 announced B.C. expects roughly over one million more doses of vaccine in May, equalling half of doses already administered.

“With the new increased supply, we’re looking at the potential of decreasing the interval between vaccine doses to less than 16 weeks for most people. As we open up immunization to all adults and get everyone their first dose, we’ll be able to speed up dose two.”

Nearly 1.9 million vaccine doses have been administered province-wide so far.

B.C. was the first Canadian province to extend the length of time between the first and second dose of vaccine. The rest of the country followed suit.

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“We’ve been on a very steep upward trajectory over the last few weeks…but there are encouraging signs our efforts are working,” Dr. Henry said. “As we’ve seen in the U.K. and the U.S., once we’re down that curve we can see dramatic decreases.”

Health minister Adrian Dix said roughly 98 per cent of available vaccines have been used as nearly 46 per cent of eligible adults receive their first dose.

The number of new daily cases has dropped to the lowest point since the end of March.

An average of 725 cases were found each day over the weekend in B.C. for 2,174 since Friday, April 30. There are currently 7,327 active cases throughout the province, down more than 500 from Friday.

The number of hospitalizations dropped by roughly 30 to 474 while the number of patients receiving intensive care remained steady at 176.

There were 15 COVID-related fatalities over the weekend, including one in Island Health where 38 people have died in relation to the virus throughout the pandemic.

In Island Health, 60 new COVID-19 cases were discovered over the weekend. This is a decrease of more than 20 from the previous weekend reporting period.

There are currently 212 active COVID-19 cases in the health authority, with 83 found in the central Vancouver Island area.

There is a data discrepancy between Island Health and the province, based on the timing of COVID-19 results. NanaimoNewsNOW reports local verified data from Island Health.

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