FORT ST. JOHN -- Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer is reporting 153 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, for a total of 145,996 cases in British Columbia.

Of the new cases, nine are in the Northern Health region, 21 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 73 are in the Fraser Health region, 11 are in the Island Health region, 39 are in the Interior Health region and

Doctor Henry also reported 176 individuals are currently hospitalized, 49 of whom are in intensive care.

There have been four new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,729 deaths in British Columbia.

Doctor Henry says “it is important to note that invitations to book a second dose will only be sent after eight weeks. At this point, given the strong demand, appointments are being booked in most locations two to three weeks later. This interval is well within the safe range for everyone and data shows it may lead to a stronger and longer-lasting immune response.”

74.9% of all adults in B.C. and 72.8% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In total, 3,823,103 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID