The single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine will be available to a select few British Columbians sometime soon.

Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says B.C. will be getting a small amount of doses that Canada is importing from the United States.

“We have not received it yet, but we are expecting to receive a limited amount in British Columbia, hopefully by early next week,” she says.

“And our first priority will be offering it to healthcare workers who have been affected by the PHO order, and want this vaccine as an option for them to continue to safely work in healthcare.”

Henry says some healthcare workers have said they will only get the single-dose J & J vaccine. In fact, she says a couple thousand workers have said that.

“Many people have contacted me, I would say probably a couple of thousand people. Yes, we do know some healthcare workers have said this is the only option they would consider right now.”

The J & J vaccine is a viral vector vaccine like AstraZeneca, and proven to be less protective against the Delta variant than an mRNA vaccine, like Pfizer or Moderna. Still, though, Henry says that vaccine provides good protection against COVID-19.

Just over 3,000 healthcare workers remain unvaccinated are on unpaid leave, representing two per cent of all workers in B.C. in that sector.

Interior Health has five per cent of workers who are still unvaccinated, which is the highest percentage in the province.