Vaccinations
This article mentions that some pharmacies which gave first doses of AZ are not going to give second doses of AZ. It is not clear where/how people who got first doses at such pharmacies should get their second doses.
BC pharmacy association says you should expect your pharmacy to contact you about a second dose in these timeframes:
This article breaks down who is getting paid what to run vaccination clinics. I was surprised to see lots of sports franchises. Perhaps because Dr. Ballem was a Vancouver 2010 director, so has friends contacts in that world?
Press Briefing
Dr. Dr. Réka Gustafson filled in for Dr. Henry today. The briefing seemed really sparse, which I guess is fitting for the “winding down” stages of a pandemic. I took it as a good sign.
Dr.G. went first:
- She hinted that they would stop giving daily case counts and drop to weekly case counts.
- She reminded us that public health constantly, always handles outbreaks of communicable diseases (like measles), and expects that COVID-19 will become like that: a disease that pub health quietly manages. She mentioned that pub health usually does its job so well that nobody knows about it.
Dix said:
- Things are calming down. For example, we have 609 base beds vacant.
- However, our health care system is still very active. For example, June 2 was the third-highest day for ambulance calls, behind two New Year’s Days. He didn’t say WHY it was so busy. Overdoses? Heat stroke? Torn Achilles’ tendons from too many out of shape people playing frisbee?
Q&A
Reminder: I summarize heavily and snarkily.
Q: How concerned are you about the border opening up? A: DrG: When the border opens up, there will be introductions. The best thing we can do to protect ourselves is to vaccinate. Dix: Yes. The border is a federal issue, and we talk all the time to the feds; we really want them to take steps to make sure that we stay safe. I am guessing he wants proof of vaccination.
Q: What incentives are you going to give for BCers to get vaxxed? A: Dix: We have lots of people getting vaxxed with no signs yet of slowing down. Let me read lots of statistics to you that prove that! There will be incentives like being able to travel. I don’t think people need gifts to get vaccinated, vaccination itself is a gift.
Q: O hai, pharmacies are getting sent thousands of AZ doses, what happens to unused vax? A: Dr.G: We have teams that are managing the vax very carefully so we don’t waste any. And I think lots of people are going to want AZ. This is a global pandemic, so it’s important to minimize total vax wastage. Ed: No, she didn’t answer the question directly.
Q: What percentage of people who are testing postive are unvaxxed? A: Dr. G: I don’t have that number off the top of my head, but remember, the vaccines are not perfect and we will have some vaccinated people getting infected. One way to protect yourself is to get a second dose! Ed: She sure seemed to be answering the question of “how many VACCINATED people are testing positive.
Q: Will the province be providing more guidance on whether to choose AZ or mRNA? A: Dr. G: We already provide a ton of info on that very question. Ed: I found it here, but it took a fair amount of looking around. Shameless plug: I wrote a loooooong section on this question in this post.
Q: Will the province tell people when they will get their second dose? A: Dr.G: No. With the largest immunization campaign we’ve ever run, that’s unlikely to be available, and it depends a lot on the vax supply. Ed: I, however, am not afraid to make wild-ass predictions! See this post. Dix: We are vaccinating sooooooo many people!
Q: Can you tell us where the clusters of the Delta strain are? A: Dr. G: Dr.G: Not off the top of my head, sorry, no, we’ll get back to you. But we’ve had very few cases, just over 500 cases by now.
Q: You lump all of the B.1.617 strains together, not splitting them out into .1, .2, and .3 subgroups. How long has B.1.617.2 been circulating here? A: I don’t know off the top of my head. Understand, splitting them into different lineages is kind of recent, and besides Delta is not very common period. It has increased a bit in the past few weeks, we will keep monitoring.
Q: Do you expect people on Team AZ to receive AZ faster than mRNA? A: it depends. AZ have started getting their invitations. Ed: Dude, pay attention. She already answered this question.
Q: Why give the option of choosing AZ or mRNA when NACI says it’s always better to get two of the same? A: Because we don’t want people to skip the second dose out of fear of blood clots.
Q: Is there a situation where you would recommend mRNA instead of AZ for second dose? A: Dr. G: If they had a blood clot or allergic reaction the first time, but that’s very very rare.
Q: O hai, We are eight days away from Stage 2, do you feel good about hitting that target? A: Yes! Whether or not we go to Stage 2 is a decision made by the government with pub health advice, but everything is going in the right direction. Ed: Huh, I thought it was a pub health decision.
Q: The border is going to open in coming months, and yeah it’s a fed thing, but what’s your best guess on when borders will open? A: Dix: I’m not going to guess, but we are going to prepare.
Q: Are there metrics you’d like to see before the borders open up? A: We talk to them, but they have their own metrics.
Q: Many people on Team AZ are wondering what to do, do you have any data on effectiveness of AZ+mRNA? A: No, the studies have not been completed yet.
Statistics
Fri/Sat: +218 cases, +9 deaths(!)
Sat/Sun: +131 cases, +1 death
Sun/Mon: +133 cases, +2 deaths
Over the weekend, +89,390 first doses, +57,521 second doses.
Currently 199 people in hospital / 63 in ICU, 2102 active cases, 141,663 recovered.
73.9% of everyone over 18 and 71.5% of those over 12 in BC have been vaccinated. 39% of adolescents 12-17 have been vaccinated.
We have 276,235 doses in fridges; we’ll use it up in 5.0 days. We’ve given more doses than we’d received by 7 days ago.
We have 151,970 doses of mRNA in fridges; we’ll use it up in 2.8 days (ulp!). We’ve given more mRNA doses than we’d received by 4 days ago.
Charts
