By Canadian Press

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

May 3, 2021 | 4:55 PM

VICTORIA — 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 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.

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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.

Liberal house leader Peter Milobar says Bernier, who represents Peace River South, is self-isolating after he and members of his family tested positive for COVID-19. 

“I talked to Mike last night and he said they were all doing well and seemed to be in good spirits, and although it’s definitely impacted them, they are obviously not … one of the more what you would consider severe cases out there,” he said in an interview on Monday. 

Bernier posted on social media Sunday night that he was not infectious when he was at the legislature between April 19 and 22. 

Bernier said that while he was vaccinated the week of April 26 in Dawson Creek, public health officials tell him he was exposed to the virus before getting the shot. 

Last month, Henry reported Dawson Creek as B.C.’s top COVID-19 hot zone with the highest number of per capita cases.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021. 

The Canadian Press