Coralee Oakes says she understands that the first doses arriving next week will be for workers in long term care and acute care in the Lower Mainland, as currently there are only two locations where it can be stored at the necessary -80 degrees.
But she says the question then becomes when can it go into northern communities…
“I think it’s critically important that supports in our healthcare system, whether it’s vaccines, whether it’s for healthcare providers, that we’re ensuring that rural British Columbia, that the north is not getting forgotten about.”
Oakes says they want to see those clear steps on when northern British Columbia can expect these vaccines into our communities to keep our people safe.
4,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are expected to arrive in BC as early as next week.
Following that trial run, Doctor Bonnie Henry says doses will be arriving in the province by the tens of thousands before the end of the year, with numbers ramping up again in January.
The Premier says 400,000 people are expected to receive the vaccine by the end of March.