For a third straight day B.C. has reported fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases.

Health officials say there were just 199 new cases today, as well as two deaths with 34 of those new cases in Interior Health. Elsewhere, there were 89 cases in Fraser Health, 68 in Vancouver Coastal Health, six in Northern Health and two in Island Health.

Active cases decreased by 99 today, now at 2,563. There are now 224 people in hospital, and 62 people in intensive care, compared to 246 hospitalizations and 70 ICU patients on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says 71.8 per cent of adults in B.C., aged 18 and older, have gotten a first vaccine dose, and 68.9 per cent of people 12 and older have gotten a first dose.

There have now been 3,426,827 total doses administered, and 229,985 second doses.

In the past week, more than 74,000 second doses have been administered, and five per cent of B.C. residents are now fully vaccinated.

People who received the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for their first dose will be able to get Pfizer for their second dose starting next week, if they choose to do so.

“Now with the evidence that we have that mixing and matching of different types of vaccines, so the viral vector vaccine that AstraZeneca with messenger-RNA vaccines, either Pfizer or Moderna is also now safe and effective and we know about the safety from data from the UK as well as places like Germany and Spain,” she said.

She says if you’re one of the almost 280,000 people who chose to get AstraZeneca for dose one in B.C., “you did the right thing.”

“So people who received AstraZeneca, and want to receive your second dose of AstraZeneca after at least eight weeks, it will be available to you through pharmacies starting on Monday,” Henry added. “And the pharmacy where you received your vaccine will be in contact with you to set up those appointments.”