"We have a glimmer of hope."
B.C. Premier John Horgan addressed the province in the daily COVID-19 briefing Wednesday afternoon, remarking that the newly-announced vaccine may mark the beginning of the end of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in B.C.
"Although the end is not in front of us, the beginning of the end may well be the announcement that vaccines will be coming to British Columbia as early as next week," said Horgan.
The first rounds of vaccines will begin coming into B.C. next week in a very limited supply. However, Horgan noted that as "we see an increase in supply we're going to see an increase in optimism."
Health officials expect roughly 4,000 high-risk British Columbians to be immunized by next week.
COVID-19 vaccine "no small feat."
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry emphasized that the arrival of the vaccine will be "no small feat."
Canada has ordered vaccines from seven different manufacturers. The manufacturer Pfizer is the first that will come to Canada, and Henry said the second vaccine will likely be from Moderna.
"The Pfizer vaccine that was approved for use will be available starting next week; it is not yet recommended for use for everybody. These first vaccines are not recommended and haven't been tested in children under the age of 16. So that's important. Thankfully, and we know that children are less likely to have COVID or to have serious effects from COVID," explained Henry.
"They are not approved for use in people who are pregnant. And that's important because we don't yet know their safety in that population, and unfortunately, they're not yet approved for use in people with immunocompromising conditions.
"And that is something that we are looking at because we know that people whose immune systems are not functioning, whether that's from cancer treatments or other medications that are on are more at risk of having severe illness from COVID-19, but unfortunately we do not yet know if these vaccines work in people who are immunocompromised and if they're safe.
"I believe these vaccines may revolutionize vaccines for the future."
Live conference more to come...
Health Canada approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine
Health Canada approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech Wednesday, paving the way for vaccinations to begin countrywide as early as next Tuesday.
The department also released its long-awaited detailed vaccination plan, which suggests the wider Canadian population will be able to line up for vaccines starting in April, and that everyone wanting the shot could be vaccinated before the end of 2021.
"This is a momentous occasion," said Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada who oversaw the review process.
Sharma said approving the first vaccine is only one step and there are still many months to go in the pandemic, but in a year where the news has mostly been bad, everyone should take a moment to acknowledge the good news.
--With files from the Canadian Press.
