After 2023, funding for Covid-related services is set to end in BC.

For nearly four years now, British Columbians have been grappling with Covid-19. We’re currently aided by health management initiatives like vaccination, testing, and protective equipment for healthcare workers. Since 2021, these measures have been funded by BC’s Pandemic Recovery Contingencies, a three-year plan that also sustains economic recovery programs and supports for vulnerable community members.

This plan expires at the end of 2023. After that, our government anticipates that “most initiatives will wind down or be integrated into existing government programs.”

The problem is, Covid-19 isn’t winding down—and pre-existing programs are being strained.

One in 39 Canadians are currently infected with SARS-CoV-2. Despite scant public messaging, hospitalizations are 14 times higher and deaths are 15 times higher than the lowest point in the pandemic to date. Statistics Canada found that life expectancy has fallen for three years in a row, while Covid-19 has risen to become the third leading cause of death.