B.C. health officials say all pregnant women in Kamloops or anywhere else in the province aged 16 and older are eligible to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says scientific data shows that pregnant people who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 have commonly had more severe illness – similar to someone in their 50s. “By prioritizing pregnant people today, we add another layer of protection for them, their babies and their communities.”

As of today, any person in the province aged 52 and older is able to book a vaccine appointment; on Thursday, anyone aged 50 and older can book an appointment. Anyone considered “clinically extremely vulnerable” who is 16 and older, anyone in Indigenous who is 18 and older and, now, any pregnant women 16 and older can book an appointment.

As of today, the province says 1,910,162 vaccine doses have been administered in B.C., to more than 1.8 million people.

The province also has said today that 40.2 per cent of Interior Health residents have received a first dose of COVID-19; all other health authorities are between 38.5 per cent and 41.7 per cent.

New today, health officials have reported 697 new COVID-19 cases and one new death from the virus.

Interior Health has seen 65 new cases today. Elsewhere, there have been 456 new cases in Fraser Health, 142 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 19 in Island Health and 14 in Northern Health.

There are now 7,161 active cases of the virus, with 486 people in hospital and 173 people in intensive care units.