The federal government approved two new COVID-19 vaccines today.
The province said the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Verity-Serum Institute of India vaccines will be integrated into its immunization program in the coming weeks.
“Unlike the vaccines that have been available to date, this new, two-dose viral vector vaccine has the benefit of being ‘fridge stable,’ making it much easier to transport and distribute around the province,” reads a joint statement by Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer and Adrian Dix, minister of health.
The province has administered 252,373 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including 73,808 second doses.
Island Health
There are 260 active COVID-19 cases in the Island Health region, including 32 reported today. That number includes 161 in the central island region, up five in the last 24 hours, along with 35 in the south and 64 in the north. One additional death was reported, bringing the total to 25.
Fourteen people are hospitalized with the virus and six are in ICU, according to the B.C. government’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There were 971 COVID-19 tests completed in the past 24 hours.
Province-wide
B.C. recorded 589 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths over the last 24 hours. There are 4,665 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, including 232 people in hospital and 63 in critical care.
There are 8,040 people under active public health monitoring in B.C.
