VICTORIA -- Members of the Cowichan Tribes First Nation on Vancouver Island will be receiving the second dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine later than what was originally expected.
On Jan. 13 and 14, eligible members of the community – mostly elders – received their first dose of vaccine, after a COVID-19 outbreak emerged in the Nation.
People who received their first shot were expecting their second vaccine dose on Wednesday, Feb.24.
Now, the First Nation says that booster shots will be administered in the week of March 8 to March 12.
"The time between the first dose and booster dose is still considered safe; you will receive the full protection of the vaccine," said Cowichan Tribes in a social media post Friday.
On Thursday, Cowichan Tribes leadership called for more support from the provincial government after two members died of COVID-19 last weekend.
At a press conference Thursday, B.C. Premier John Horgan said he would be speaking with Nation leadership to touch base on the situation, and promised that health officials were "doing everything they can" to help manage the outbreak.
Cowichan Tribes is B.C.'s largest First Nation with approximately 5,000 members. As of Feb. 18, 211 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded in the community.
Three members died of the virus, while 194 had recovered. Another eight people were in self-isolation, while six people were in hospital for treatment.
The Cowichan Tribes outbreak was first declared on Jan. 1. A shelter-in-place order was issued in the community and has since been extended into March.
Last week, Cowichan Tribes leadership estimated that the community would be receiving around 600 doses of the Pfizer vaccine for the second round of immunizations.
