First wave of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in B.C. next week

The first wave of COVID-19 vaccines will arrive in British Columbia next week, beginning an expected massive rollout of several different vaccines that will eventually put an end to the pandemic that has impacted the entire world.

After Canada approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced just over 4,000 doses of the vaccine will be arriving in the province next week, and healthcare workers who work in long-term care homes in the Lower Mainland will be the first to be immunized.

Dr. Henry said over the first three months of 2021, close to 400,000 British Columbians will be vaccinated. Those who are at most risk of serious illness or death will be prioritized first, including long-term care home residents and healthcare workers in care homes and hospitals, followed by seniors living in the community, others with underlying health conditions and those who are at risk by being under-housed or homeless.

Dr. Henry noted the single most important risk factor that leads to serious illness or death from COVID-19 is age, and Health Minister Adrian Dix noted the order of who is being vaccinated is not a reflection on anyone's value.

More doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in B.C through January, when it will be distributed to the rest of the province.

Dr. Henry said by Easter, B.C. should have enough doses of vaccine to begin immunizing other frontline workers like paramedics, firefighters, police officers, grocery store employees, teachers and other older people.

The Pfizer vaccine, which was approved in the United Kingdom last week, is a messenger RNA vaccine – a “new and exciting” type of vaccine that was actually developed at the University of British Columbia.

The vaccine needs to be stored at very cold temperatures, around -70 C, which will carry some challenges for transportation and distribution.

She said that the world's greatest minds have come together over the past year to develop these new vaccines, a process she said has taken 15-20 years in the past. Trials have shown these vaccines have upwards of 95 per cent effectiveness.

Dr. Henry said she expects the Moderna vaccine, also a messenger RNA vaccine, to be approved in Canada in the coming weeks, followed by more standard types of vaccines that are more easily distributed in the spring. The messenger RNA vaccines will not be given to people under the age of 16, pregnant women, or for those with compromised immune symptoms, due to some unknowns around its safety for those populations.

While there remains many unknowns moving into 2021, Dr. Henry said she expects many of the strict COVID-19 measures to be relaxed once 60 to 70 per cent of the population is immunized, noting that she is looking forward to a “good summer.”

Health Minister Dix also said once people in long-term care homes become immunized, one of the top priorities, measures that have restricted visitors at these homes can start to be relaxed.

Dr. Henry has said in the past that Canada has never mandated any immunization and only those who want a vaccine will get one.