The number of people in British Columbia that their government is aiming to vaccinate by March next year is at nearly 400,000.
Following Health Canada’s approval of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in a news conference on Wednesday that B.C. is expected to receive four trays of vaccines, each containing 975 doses, next week but only in two places in the province — Vancouver Coastal Health region and Fraser Health region. These two locations will get two trays each.
Henry explained that the vaccine “needs to be handled very carefully and it needs ultra-low temperature so -70 to -80 freezers which, you can imagine, are not things that we have a lot around.”
The first batches of vaccines that will arrive in the aforementioned places will be given to healthcare workers in long-term care and in frontline care settings such as intensive care units, emergency departments, and the coronavirus medical wards.
“By protecting healthcare workers who work in long-term care and in those critical areas of our hospitals, we are able to protect the residents as well,” she said.
While acknowledging that elders in long-term care homes are the most vulnerable to the virus, the first batches of the vaccine could not be transported to them right away as Henry noted that Pfizer vaccines are required to be administered at the place where it is delivered. But Henry expressed hope that the Moderna vaccine, which she said has “less stringent requirement for transport,” will get approval for use in Canada.
“It can be kept at fridge temperatures for a matter of days that makes it much more easy to transport in smaller amounts to long-term care homes, for residents for example, or to some of our more rural or remote communities,” the official stressed.
Once more vaccines against the virus are available in B.C., Henry said the B.C. government aims to immunize next seniors over the age of 80, those in higher-risk communities, and those in remote and isolated Indigenous communities.
After them, people who are targeted to be immunized once they have enough vaccines later in March and April are other frontline workers such as other healthcare workers, firefighters, and employees in essential services.
“We will also be moving down our population range and in age increments as vaccine becomes available,” Henry said.
She assured that British Columbians who want to be vaccinated will have access but clarified that it will not immediately happen with the limited supply of vaccines so she urged their citizens to continue observing health protocols.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier announced that Canada is expected to receive up to 249,000 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine this December.