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       A syringe is loaded with COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic run by Vancouver Coastal Health, in Richmond, B.C., on April 10, 2021.

       JONATHAN HAYWARD/The Canadian Press

       British Columbia has hit the 80 per cent mark with the number of eligible residents who have received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.

       The province says that compares with nearly 88 per cent of people who have been vaccinated with their initial dose.

       It says B.C. recorded 743 new cases on Friday and that three-quarters of those diagnosed between Sept. 16 and 22 were not fully vaccinated.

       Seven more people have died of the infection, for a total of 1,922 fatalities since the pandemic began.

       The province says that after factoring for age, people who are unvaccinated are nearly 26 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are fully vaccinated.

       Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said this week that more information on a return to providing notices about exposure to the virus at schools would be available by the end of this week, but the Health Ministry now says that will happen next week.

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