B.C. premier gets second AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as 109 new cases reported

Jun 18, 2021 | 6:15 PM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s premier says he’s received a second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

John Horgan shared a photo of himself to social media on Friday afternoon holding a completed vaccination card.

In the post on Twitter, he says the best vaccine is the first vaccine offered.

The news comes as more than 75 per cent of eligible adults in British Columbia have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as the province reported 109 new cases of the virus.

The province also reported 1,389 active cases of COVID-19 on Friday, along with one additional death.

Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry say 76.7 per cent of eligible adults have received a vaccine, and the province has administered 4.29 million doses.

Of those, 823,371 are second doses.

The post from B.C.’s premier comes a day after Henry said there is no wrong choice for a second COVID-19 vaccine dose, despite recommendations from a federal panel that people who received the AstraZeneca shot first should choose Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for the second. 

“We still know from the information that we’re seeing here in B.C., but also primarily in the U.K., where a lot of AstraZeneca has been used, that vaccine effectiveness is very good for both AstraZeneca and the mRNA vaccines,” she said at a Thursday news conference.

Henry said anybody who received two doses of AstraZeneca can be assured they received a safe vaccine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2021.

The Canadian Press