Just over 52,000 New Brunswickers have received the latest COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 91,000 have received this year’s flu shot since they became available on Oct. 3, according to the government.
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Topic: JapanView all posts for the topic: Japan
Japan COVID deaths 14 times that of flu after guidelines lifted
More than 30,000 people in Japan died of COVID-19 in the first year after most coronavirus-related guidelines were lifted in May 2023, a figure over 14 times higher than deaths caused by influenza during the same period, government data showed Thursday.
Coronavirus infections led to 32,576 deaths during the 12 months, with those aged 65 or older accounting for 97 percent of the total, while the number of influenza fatalities reached 2,244, according to the health ministry’s vital statistics.
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COVID-19 prevalence high and rising across most of province as BCCDC revamps reporting dashboards
The prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – in B.C. wastewater is high and rising across most regions, according to the latest data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
The BCCDC released its first weekly data update of the 2024-25 respiratory illness season Thursday, and took the opportunity to dramatically revise the information it presents and the way it is presented.
Gone is the previous year’s “COVID-19 Situation Report” dashboard, replaced with a new dashboard titled “Viral Respiratory Outcomes.”
While the situation report included specific numbers for newly confirmed infections, hospital admissions, critical care admissions and deaths within 30 days of a positive COVID test, the new dashboard reports the latter three numbers as a rate per million residents.
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B.C. posts highest COVID-19 hospitalizations since January in latest monthly update
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. has risen to its highest level since January, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control’s latest monthly update.
There were 214 test-positive COVID patients in provincial hospitals as of Thursday, according to the BCCDC. That’s the second-highest total the agency has published all year, only slightly below the 219 seen on Jan. 4, the first – and still highest – total reported in 2024.
Thursday’s update showed the number of lab-confirmed cases rose each week in August, with 365 new positive tests recorded during the week of Aug. 4 to 10 and 462 recorded last week.
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There’s a gaping hole in Canada’s COVID tracking
The Government of Canada’s website tracks the number of hospitalizations and deaths from acute COVID-19. What it fails to include are the hospitalizations and deaths that result from COVID’s longer-term health consequences.
Even mild cases carry risk, but COVID most frequently wallops people after severe cases, especially when hospitalized. Of the nearly 300,000 Canadians hospitalized so far, over half likely have — or will — suffer life-changing health consequences, sometimes years after having recovered from the acute illness. These risks climb with repeated infections.
Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are often delayed. Like high blood pressure, SARS CoV-2 can gradually damage the inner lining of blood vessels. This by itself, is painless. While it happens to people following mild cases of COVID, it’s far more likely after severe ones, especially after hospitalization. This doubles the downstream risk of having a heart attack, stroke or blood clot in the lung. It triples the risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm, including atrial fibrillation.
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‘High’ COVID levels show virus may no longer be an emergency in B.C. but it’s still a threat
B.C.’s [top doctor] has ended the COVID-19 public health emergency, but experts warn that COVID-19 still poses a serious and potentially deadly threat to the public.
“COVID is still a major, ongoing health issue and crisis,” said Tara Moriarty, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, an infectious disease expert and co-founder of the COVID-19 Resources Canada database.
By Moriarty’s calculations, one in 52 British Columbians currently has COVID. According to recent federal wastewater testing from mid-July, B.C. has “high” COVID-19 activity levels.
This can have major implications for public health because hospitals don’t have mandatory masking requirements.
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Montreal General Hospital dealing with summertime COVID-19 outbreak
There is a COVID-19 outbreak on the 18th floor of the Montreal General Hospital as Quebec and other jurisdictions see a rise in infections.
The hospital has implemented a mandatory mask policy for everyone on that unit and everyone on the floor is being monitored for symptoms.
Overall, the numbers for positive tests for COVID-19 in Quebec are up from 448 in April to 745 yesterday. That’s still far below the 3,000 we had a day in early January.
The 22 deaths reported by the province’s public health institute, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) during the week of June 30 is still far below the 100 a week Quebec was seeing a year ago.
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Slight increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in Quebec
New variants are beginning to affect the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations, Santé publique notes, but it is not concerned about the situation at this time.
“For the week ending July 5, we had 331 hospitalizations. The week before, it was 291. So it went up by about 14%,” says the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, in an interview with Le Devoir.
Those affected are mainly seniors, he said, noting that nearly half of the 331 Quebecers hospitalized are 80 years of age or older. “We have new variants, the KP.2 and KP.3, which have gradually settled in Quebec and are taking up all the space,” explains Dr. Boileau.
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B.C. COVID hospitalizations at highest level since January
It may not be on most people’s minds, but COVID-19 is on the rise again in B.C.
The B.C. Centre for Disease Control released its monthly data on the disease Thursday, showing 204 test-positive patients in provincial hospitals. It’s only the second time all year that the hospitalized population has risen above 200, and the first time since early January.
The hospital census is more than double what it was at this time last year, when the BCCDC’s July update showed just 96 COVID patients receiving hospital care.
Comments closedTopic: United KingdomView all posts for the topic: United Kingdom
UK Covid hospitalisations increase following emergence of new variant
Experts have warned that Covid “hasn’t gone away” after an uptick in infections and hospitalisations that is thought to have been caused by new variants of the virus.
A group of Covid mutations has recently emerged and is collectively referred to as FLiRT.
According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Covid hospital admissions increased by 24 per cent in the week to Sunday, with a rate of 3.31 per 100,000 people compared with 2.67 per 100,000 in the previous week.
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COVID-19 on the rise in Alberta as summer approaches
Albertans can expect a further COVID-19 bump, driven by yet another crop of new variants, experts are cautioning.
COVID cases, hospitalizations and positivity rates have been rising since April.
“Unlike other respiratory illnesses, we’re not really getting a summer reprieve,” said Sarah (Sally) Otto, a COVID-19 modeller and professor in the department of zoology at the University of British Columbia.
“We’re seeing this across Canada and globally, that there’s an uptick in cases. And that’s coming from these new variants [and the] evolution of this virus.”
The KP.2 and KP.3 variants, combined, now account for more than half of Alberta’s sequenced cases.
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Number hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. hits highest level since March
The number of COVID-19-positive patients in B.C. hospitals surged by 67 per cent during the month of May, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control on Thursday.
The centre’s first update since May 2 shows 162 test-positive patients in B.C. hospitals, up from just 97 in the previous release.
The latest hospitalization total is the highest the BCCDC has reported since March 14, when there were 163 people hospitalized with the disease.
The data is also a notable shift from last June, when the number of COVID-positive patients in B.C. hospitals was plummeting.
Comments closedTopic: vaccinesView all posts for the topic: vaccines
Researchers estimate vaccines have saved 154 million lives over past half-century
An international team of health and medical researchers including workers at the WHO, working with economists and modeling specialists, has found that the use of vaccines to prevent or treat disease has saved the lives of approximately 154 million people over the past half-century.
In their study, published in The Lancet, the group used mathematical and statistical modeling to develop estimates for lives saved due to vaccines and then added them together to find the total.
Comments closedTopic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta
Video | COVID-19 cases straining Alberta hospitals
Doctors say COVID-19 cases are spreading rapidly in Alberta, putting strain on hospitals. Chelan Skulski has the details.
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Topic: AlbertaView all posts for the topic: Alberta
High-risk Albertans urged to get another vaccine dose as COVID-19 cases ticking up
After trending downward for several months, COVID-19 is on the upswing in Alberta once again.
The province’s respiratory virus dashboard shows a number of key indicators, including case counts, hospitalization numbers and positivity rates, are ticking up.
“Many jurisdictions in Canada have seen a slight bump in late April in the number of COVID cases, the positivity rate and also in their wastewater monitoring,” said Dr. Dan Gregson, an infectious diseases specialist in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
Comments closedTopic: New BrunswickView all posts for the topic: New Brunswick
Two more COVID deaths in New Brunswick
Two New Brunswickers aged 65 or older died from COVID-19 between April 14-20, according to new data from the province.
The news was included in its weekly update on COVID and influenza.
Seventeen people required hospital treatment for COVID between April 14-20, and one patient needed intensive care. There were two lab-confirmed COVID outbreaks in undisclosed facilities.
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New Brunswick mulls future of COVID-19 rapid tests, as virus kills 2, hospitalizes child under 4
New Brunswick is mulling the future of its COVID-19 rapid point-of-care testing program, as the virus claimed two more lives and hospitalized 17 people, including a child under four.
“Demand for rapid tests has been steadily declining since last fall, and the province is currently determining its next steps with regards to the COVID-19 tests,” said Department of Health spokesperson Sean Hatchard.
He made the comment in response to questions from CBC News about how much longer the province will continue to offer free rapid test kits and whether it’s considering phasing them out.
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