This Misery Index created by the Macdonald Laurier Institute found that Alberta has suffered the most through the COVID-19 pandemic. B.C. garnered a C-plus.
B.C. is shrinking the interval between first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses to eight weeks, or half of the planned 16-week gap.
That’s good news, because a new study shows that a single dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is only 33 per cent effective against the variant first identified in India, but two doses are 87.9 per cent effective. Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are about 60 per cent effective against that variant, also known as B.1.617.2.
Of course, India has suffered massively as that variant spread, but now the United Kingdom is starting to see an increase in cases and hospitalizations, also due to that variant.
B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says people older than age 70 and those who are considered clinically extremely vulnerable will receive invitations to book their second doses, starting Thursday. However, people must be registered and some who received their first doses early on may not have phone numbers or emails registered in the provincial system.
More than 3 million first doses have now been given in B.C., which is 62 per cent of all eligible British Columbians older than age 12, Dr. Henry said.
“Everybody will be moved up to eight weeks at the latest,” Dr. Henry said. “If you just received your first dose early in May, you should expect an invite early in July.”
The National Advisory Committee on Vaccines has said it’s preferable to have the same vaccine for first and second doses, but it's not always possible, Dr. Henry said. She said some people in B.C. who had Moderna for their first vaccine may have to have Pfizer for their second vaccine, due to supply. She said NACI says that is safe.
People who received AstraZeneca vaccines for their first dose will need to wait about another week to hear about their second doses, she said. B.C. is waiting to learn about mixing and matching between the AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
Meanwhile, here’s the rest of the news from this week:
- Dr. Bonnie Henry announced B.C.’s reopening plan and it looks like we could be nearly fully back to normal by Labour Day, assuming cases are low, people continue to get vaccinated and the vaccines are effective against variants. Everything except international travel, which is up to the federal government, is back on the table in four stages, which culminate after Labour Day. That light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer and it's getting stronger and brighter,” said Dr. Henry. Even concerts and casinos are projected to be on again, this fall.
- A Misery Index created by the Macdonald Laurier Institute found that Alberta has suffered the most through the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with Ontario and Quebec, Alberta earned a D. B.C. garnered a C-plus, along with Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while the Maritime provinces were ranked higher.
- Three staff working in a Wuhan lab that specializes in viruses were taken to hospital in November, 2019, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing an American intelligence report, Reuters reports.
- Immunity from COVID-19 after infection is strong and lasts more than a year, the New York Times reports. Immunity after vaccination is not as strong.
- The same blood clotting disorder seen in some instances after the AstraZeneca vaccine has now been seen after the Johnson and Johnson vaccine in Belgium, Reuters reports.
- Experts are debating whether the Olympics – already postponed from last summer – should go ahead this summer in Tokyo, the New York Times reports.
- The PNE, which had earlier been cancelled, now may be back on the table, the Vancouver Sun reports.
- Manitoba is now the North American COVID-19 hotspot, taking over from Alberta. This is hitting Indigenous people and people of colour the hardest, the New York Times reports.
It’s still a race between vaccines and variants, as it has been for six months or more. Let’s hope we get ahead of it this week.
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