B.C. ‘ready’ to rollout Omicron-specific vaccines: Dix, Henry

Many eligible British Columbians may soon be able to start getting the newly approved Moderna Spikevax Bivalent vaccine.

In a statement Thursday morning, B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said they anticipate delivery of the Omicron-specific vaccine doses to come in over the next several weeks.

“Most people should be able to get one in September or October,” the joint statement reads, in part.

“As before, the vaccines will be available in health-authority clinics and pharmacies.”

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The province is expected to provide more information on the rollout on Sept. 6.

Health Canada announced earlier in the day that it had approved Moderna’s bivalent shot. Pfizer-BioNTech’s variant-adapted vaccine remains under review.

Moderna’s updated shot is approved for use in adults 18 years of age and older. The new mRNA-based vaccine “provides better immune response to the Omicron BA.1,” Health Canada said.

“We know that this vaccine also generates a good immune response against the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 that have more recently emerged,” Dr. Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical advisor, added.

Moderna has said it will supply Canada with 12 million doses of its Omicron-targeted vaccine.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says the first shipment of hundreds of thousands of doses is expected Friday. By the end of the month, Canada is expected to have received 10.5 million doses.

Once the shots do get to B.C., the province says it’ll be ready to administer them.

“With the start of the respiratory illness season, it is especially important to make sure that people are up to date on their vaccines. Our COVID-19 immunization strategy has been effective in protecting people from the virus, and we must stay diligent in continuing to do so,” the statement from Dix and Henry adds.

-With files from Michael Ranger