B.C. on May 6 set a record by providing 52,266 doses of vaccine to 50,054 new people – its first record for most vaccinations in a day in almost three weeks.
Health officials provided 2,212 second doses to people in the past 24 hours, which is the highest number since early March.
One concern, however, is that a woman in her 40s has contracted a blood clot as a result of receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The woman is stable, and receiving treatment in hospital in Vancouver Coastal Health, provincial health officer Bonnie Henry said.
Henry estimated the risk of getting a blood clot after getting a dose of the vaccine as being about one in 100,000.
Symptoms of having a blood clot include:
• persistent severe headache;
• shortness of breath;
• chest pain;
• severe abdominal pain: and
• swelling or redness in a limb.
"These are things that should provoke you to get treatment, and the assessment, right away" Henry said.
"This is something that we know is rare, but is associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine."
The province's age-based vaccination stream now allows everyone aged 49 years old, and older, to book appointments to get shots of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. The other main stream for vaccinations is to get doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through pharmacies. That stream is largely on hold because the province has largely run out of supply.
Its success in rolling out doses of vaccine in the past day comes as new COVID-19 infections remain comparatively low, and serious cases of COVID-19 are on the decline.
B.C. recorded 694 new infections in the past day, for a total of 133,619 known cases since the first case was detected in January, 2020. That is far below the record high number of 1,293 new infections recorded on April 8.
The province considers 93.5% of those who have been infected, or 125,025 people, to have recovered.
There are 6,802 people known to be actively battling infections, which is the lowest number since March 26, when 6,245 were fighting illness.
Most of those actively infected have been told to self-isolate, however, 457 are in hospitals, which is a net total of 24 fewer people than yesterday. Of those in hospital, 154 are in intensive care units, which is a net total of seven fewer people than yesterday.
One additional person has died from COVID-19 in the past day, raising the province's death toll to 1,598. Henry did not provide the age of the person. On May 3, when Henry provided an update for the previous three days, she said that 15 people had died, with all but one of them being older than 69 years. She did not say whether any of those individuals had been vaccinated.
No new COVID-19 outbreaks have been recorded, and no outbreaks at heathcare facilities have been declared over.
That means that there remain four active COVID-19 outbreaks at long-term living, or seniors' homes in B.C. They are:
• Dufferin Care Centre in Coquitlam;
• Orchard Haven in Keremeos;
• Sandalwood Retirement Resort in Kelowna; and
• Spring Valley Care Centre in Kelowna.
The three B.C. hospitals with active COVID-19 outbreaks are:
• Dawson Creek and District Hospital;
• Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver; and
• Surrey Memorial Hospital.
