Dr. Bonnie Henry made sure to stress that she was being cautiously optimistic, but BC's top doctor believes there's a chance we will see a return to normalcy this summer.
“Maybe I’m too optimistic, but we’re going to be in our post-pandemic world by the summer, if things continue to go the way that we want them to,” said Henry on Thursday.
“We know there’s going to be snags … I think it was Eisenhower that said ‘No plan survives first contact with the enemy.’ But I think, by the summer, we’re going to enjoy a lot more of those connections that we need. That’s going to help us get through the trauma that we’ve all experienced together,” she added.
Henry's comments followed a question asking what the impact of the third vaccine, known as AstraZeneca, will have in BC.
Earlier this week, health officials decided to lengthen the time needed between first and second doses to four months due to the vaccine's arrival.
The change will hopefully allow any eligible adult who wants the vaccine to receive their first dose before August.
“That means we can move everybody up the list. More people will be protected sooner," said Henry.
"Extending this second dose provides very high real-world protection to more people sooner.”
So far, 298,851 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, including 86,746 second doses.
There are currently 4,743 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 248 individuals currently hospitalized with the virus.
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