Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

AstraZeneca shots go to priority workers in B.C.

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 15 Mar, 2021 11:34 PM
  • AstraZeneca shots go to priority workers in B.C.

British Columbia's initial shipment of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be used to inoculate workers in vulnerable sectors including food processing plants, farms and greenhouses as well as industries requiring employees to live in congregate settings, health officials announced Monday.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said the vaccine is being allocated to industries where barriers and full use of personal protective equipment can be challenging and where outbreaks and clusters are ongoing.

"Immunizing workers in these settings will not only protect workers, it will also protect the communities around them, including many rural, remote and Indigenous communities," Henry and Dix said in a joint statement.

The highest-risk categories of work sites were identified through a task force established by the provincial health officer last November.

They include sites where poultry, fruit and fish are processed as well as agricultural operations and large industrial camps where close living quarters make isolation and quarantine difficult, contributing to outbreaks.

Henry and Dix said the BC Immunization Committee is reviewing the latest data and recommendations from its federal counterpart to determine additional workplaces that will be prioritized for immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The effort to inoculate vulnerable workers complements the province's age-based vaccination plan, which is one week ahead of schedule, with seniors aged 84 and older, plus Indigenous elders 65 and up, currently booking appointments for a shot.

The Health Ministry said people aged 83 and older can make an appointment Tuesday and the age eligibility drops daily until anyone 80 and up can make arrangements for a COVID-19 jab by the end of the week.

Added staff at call centres across B.C. have helped speed up the process and the province says the centres are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

An estimated 100,000 people are included in the 80- to 84-year-old group and phone appointments are the only way to make a booking in all regions except Fraser Health.

Health Minister Adrian Dix has said a provincewide online system is expected within weeks.

Monday also marks the launch of vaccination clinics across B.C. for Indigenous elders and seniors over 90 who already have appointments.

Clinics also begin in Prince Rupert and Port Edward, where all adults are being immunized, regardless of age, due to stubbornly high infection rates in that northwestern region.

At last count on Friday, B.C. had reported just under 87,000 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and had administered almost 381,000 doses of vaccine.

MORE National ARTICLES

COVID-19 cases climb again as variants spread

COVID-19 cases climb again as variants spread
Tam says there is an increase in new variants circulating in Canada, and no province has been spared — though several continue to ease anti-pandemic restrictions.

COVID-19 cases climb again as variants spread

International air travel falling with new rules

International air travel falling with new rules
The drop in international arrivals in early February is about four times the decline seen between early January and early February in 2019 and 2020.

International air travel falling with new rules

Economy fell 5.4 per cent in 2020: StatCan

Economy fell 5.4 per cent in 2020: StatCan
Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product shrank 5.4 per cent in 2020, the steepest annual decline since comparable data was first recorded in 1961.

Economy fell 5.4 per cent in 2020: StatCan

Vancouver home sales up 73% year-over-year: REBGV

Vancouver home sales up 73% year-over-year: REBGV
"The supply of listings for sale isn’t keeping up with the demand we’re seeing,” said Colette Gerber, REBGV's chair, in a release.

Vancouver home sales up 73% year-over-year: REBGV

Churches challenge B.C. COVID-19 health orders

Churches challenge B.C. COVID-19 health orders
Henry and the province have said they are confident the health orders are in accordance with the law, including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Churches challenge B.C. COVID-19 health orders

1478 COVID19 cases over 3 days

1478 COVID19 cases over 3 days
With the additional supply from the newly approved AstraZeneca/Serum Institute of India viral vector vaccine, combined with setting the second dose interval at 16 weeks, everyone moves up the line, meaning more people will be vaccinated more quickly.

1478 COVID19 cases over 3 days