The number of people in B.C. hospitals with COVID-19 rose slightly this week as the province began rolling out its latest vaccination campaign.
There were 141 test-positive COVID patients in hospitals across the province as of Thursday, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. That’s an increase of nine – or about 6.8 per cent – from last week’s total.
Comments closedAs respiratory season winds down, a mask mandate in hospitals is being dropped but a COVID spring booster program is ramping up to strengthen waning protection for the most vulnerable.
“We are returning to the rules that were in place prior to respiratory illness season,” Health Minister Adrian Dix said Monday on the suspension of the mask mandate, likely to be a seasonal requirement.
The B.C. Health Ministry says given the decreased rates of viral respiratory infections in the community, additional infection prevention and control measures implemented last fall in health-care settings — such as masks — are no longer required at all times.
Comments closedComments closedIt’s an invisible and new condition. Many people don’t believe that long COVID is real or exists. And unfortunately, that permeates through the healthcare system. Even outside of the medical system, there is a broader societal awareness that is lacking.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals declined to its lowest level of 2024 in the latest data update from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
There were 133 test-positive patients in provincial hospitals as of Thursday, according to the BCCDC. The last published update to show a total lower than that was in August of last year, when the BCCDC reported just 76 patients hospitalized.
This week’s hospitalized population is less than half of what it was around this time last year. The final published update of March 2023 showed 294 patients in B.C. hospitals.
Comments closedNew guidelines suggest certain high-risk groups could benefit from having another dose of a COVID-19 vaccine this spring — and more frequent shots in general — while the broader population could be entering once-a-year territory, much like an annual flu shot.
Medical experts told CBC News that falling behind on the latest shots can come with health risks, particularly for individuals who are older or immunocompromised.
“Even when the risk of infection starts to increase, the vaccines still do a really good job at decreasing risk of severe disease,” said McMaster University researcher and immunologist Matthew Miller.
Comments closedWARNING: This story contains offensive and racist language.
A Kelowna man charged with causing a disturbance after yelling at a security guard at a vaccine clinic has been found not guilty by a B.C. judge.
Bruce Orydzuk, 60, was captured on video repeatedly yelling at the guard, who was wearing a turban. The guard had asked him to leave the property of a COVID-19 vaccine clinic in July 2021.
Comments closedThe number of COVID-positive patients in B.C. hospitals declined this week, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
There were 148 test-positive patients in hospitals across the province as of Thursday, a decrease of 15 – or about nine per cent – from the 163 reported in hospital at this time last week.
The latest data continues the trend of relatively stable hospitalization levels seen throughout 2024 so far, with the first update of the year remaining the only one to show more than 200 COVID patients receiving hospital treatment.
Comments closedCanada is seeing a resurgence of measles, with cases in the first quarter of 2024 already far surpassing the total for all of 2023. There were 12 cases last year, and more than three times that number so far in 2024, with 38 reported as of March 19.
Most of these cases (28) are in Québec, and eight are in Ontario, while Saskatchewan and British Columbia have each reported one case.
As an immunologist with a focus on host-microbe interactions and antiviral immunity, I have been following recent measles outbreaks.
Comments closedAdvocacy group launches province-wide campaign to strengthen mask protections in healthcare.
DoNoHarm BC, a grassroots group advocating for public health measures, is campaigning to keep mask protections in the healthcare industry year-long.
In a release, the organization says healthcare workers are not required to stay masked everywhere. Last April, they were able to stop masking in various settings, including in ERs, children’s hospitals, and cancer centres.
“B.C. currently requires masks in hospitals and long-term care for staff, contractors, visitors, and volunteers – but not for patients,” DoNoHarm BC said in a news release.
“While policy-makers have only guaranteed this measure for a “few months” over the winter, DoNoHarm BC notes the last time BC discarded healthcare masking, multiple medical facilities suffered COVID outbreaks.”
Comments closedMarch 14, 2024 (British Columbia) – DoNoHarm BC, a grassroots group advocating for evidence-based public health measures, is leading a province-wide campaign to keep mask protections in BC medical settings. The campaign, “Vulnerability Isn’t Seasonal”, also calls to strengthen infection control with patient masking; wider use of N95 masks; and coverage in private practices like GP’s offices.
BC currently requires masks in hospitals and long-term care for staff, contractors, visitors and volunteers – but not for patients. While policy-makers have only guaranteed this measure for a “few months” over the winter, DoNoHarm BC notes that the last time BC discarded healthcare masking, multiple medical facilities suffered COVID outbreaks. At the time, removal of healthcare masking contradicted guidance from the World Health Organization, and prompted BC’s Human Rights Commissioner to state that the move “does not uphold a human rights centered approach to public health.”
Comments closedSeventeen cases of measles have been confirmed in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia — more than half of those in the Montreal area, while one Ontario case has been linked to a high school.
Quebec public health director Dr. Luc Boileau confirmed 10 cases on Monday, almost all of them involving children and making Montreal the country’s epicentre. He said only three of the cases were linked to travel outside of the country, indicating community spread in and around the city.
Public Health Ontario confirmed five cases of measles and said all but one involved travel.
Comments closedOne case of measles was reported in B.C. over the weekend, the provincial Ministry of Health confirmed in a statement Monday morning.
This weekend’s confirmed case is the first the province has recorded since 2019. As of Feb. 29, nine other cases of the disease have been confirmed across Canada.
B.C.’s Health Ministry announced the case in a statement warning locals to confirm their immunization records, especially before going on spring break trips.
“With measles outbreaks being reported internationally and spring break on the horizon, the provincial health officer, BC Centre for Disease Control and public health officials are reminding people in British Columbia to check their vaccination records before travelling to ensure they are protected,” the statement said.
Comments closedThe fall COVID-19 vaccine cut the risk of COVID-19 illness by about half overall, and by 67 per cent for those with a previous infection, according to new research from the Canadian network that has long tracked the performance of the annual flu shot.
This is the first time the Canadian Sentinel Practitioner Surveillance Network, which is comprised of hundreds of primary care providers in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, produced mid-season estimates of the effectiveness of immunization against COVID-19.
Comments closedThe pandemic has highlighted the lasting health impacts viruses can have, long after the acute infection is over and done with.
Many viruses, not just Covid, play a role in causing more serious long-term diseases. Epstein- Barr Virus (EBV), the mononucleosis or kissing disease virus, is associated with Multiple Sclerosis.
Recently, B.C. rolled out an at home self-test for Human Papilloma Virus, that’s because HPV can cause throat and cervical cancer.
After the Great Influenza of 1918, it took us years to learn that children born in and around that time were later at higher risk for Parkinson’s disease (remember Robert De Niro in the movie Awakenings), not to mention cardiac disease and diabetes.
Comments closedBC’s budget and fiscal report covers a “three year fiscal plan” for housing, sustainability, and healthcare. The report states, “As the funding for pandemic contingencies are set to wind down by the end of 2023/24, it is anticipated that the Ministry of Health will wind down or integrate any services into ministry operations, as appropriate, to support the ongoing health and well-being of British Columbians.”
The report did not elaborate, and The Peak reached out to the Ministry of Health for more information, who said they “will have an update to share following the release of the 2024/25 budget at the end of next month.”
DoNoHarm BC, who advocates for safer COVID-19 protections in the province, is concerned about the effects a potential budget cut could have for residents and provides a series of recommendations.
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