Another 457 COVID-19 cases, two deaths reported in B.C. as province unveils booster shot plan

Another 457 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in British Columbia on Tuesday, along with two more deaths.

Of the new cases, 176 were in the Fraser Health region, 61 were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 83 were in the Interior Health region, 55 were in Island Health,  and 82 were in Northern Health. Twelve of the cases were epi-linked.

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There are 390 COVID-19 patients in hospital, the province said, an increase of 24 from Monday. Tuesday’s total reflects a data correction involving hospitalizations in B.C.’s Interior.

A total of 155 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, 133 of whom are unvaccinated, the province said Tuesday.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in the province dipped to 4,829, a decrease of 137 from Monday.

The two deaths bring the province’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,131.

The province said 89.6 per cent of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 84.5 per cent have received two doses.

Earlier in the day, B.C.’s top doctor unveiled plans to make booster shots available six to eight months after a second dose.

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Priority will be given to people over the age of 70, front-line health-care workers, and rural Indigenous Peoples because they’re at the highest risk of experiencing breakthrough infections, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.

Henry says those groups and people who are most immunocompromised were vaccinated first and are getting to the point of waning immunity just ahead of flu season.

Those who received AstraZeneca as a first or second dose will be offered an mRNA vaccine as their booster.

“Our strategy has always been to watch what is happening and adapt,” Henry said.

— with files from Richard Zussman, Amy Judd and The Canadian Press