Vancouver Island to receive new Moderna COVID-19 vaccine next week, Henry says

Vancouver Island to receive new Moderna COVID-19 vaccine next week, Henry says
File
Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia will receive the new Moderna COVID-19 vaccine next week, according to Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia will receive the new Moderna COVID-19 vaccine next week.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said during an update on Wednesday that the province is expecting to receive its first shipment of the Massachusetts-based biotechnology company’s newly approved vaccine for COVID-19.

“I am excited and grateful,” said Henry. “It is something we have been hoping for some time.”

It’s unclear at the moment as to how many doses of the new vaccine will be coming to B.C., according to Henry, who said the first shipments are expected to arrive in Canada on Dec. 28 and will be distributed to all areas of the province once they arrive in B.C.

“The amount that we have in British Columbia, yet to be fully confirmed, will be going to all areas of the province,” she said. “So, there will be some coming to Vancouver Island … my expectation is it will be sometime next week.

Henry said Island Health is currently working to determine which care facilities on Vancouver Island will receive the Moderna vaccine.

“I know Vancouver Island Health Authority is working at identifying which care homes will be targeted first,” she said.

Health Canada approved the new Moderna vaccine for use nationwide on Wednesday.

B.C.’s top doctor called  Moderna’s vaccine far more “flexible” than the Pfizer vaccine.

“It comes in boxes of 1,200 but we can break it down into as small as 100 doses and [send it] out to different parts of communities around the province,” she said. “That means we can start to address some of the urgent needs that we have.”

Henry those urgent needs include getting the vaccine to remote First Nations communities and long-term care homes province-wide.

“We can go into a community once and be able to immunize people and not waste any vaccine,” she said. “That is so important.”

 

CHEK NewsCHEK News

Recent Stories

Send us your news tips and videos!