Respiratory illness season is over, British Columbia\u2019s top doctor said Friday, but the province is set to launch a spring COVID-19 immunization campaign and wants everyone to ensure they\u2019re fully protected against measles.<\/p>\n
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said B.C.\u2019s COVID-19 hospitalizations have hit the lowest level since 2020, with about 40 people in hospital, while cases of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, have also been declining.<\/p>\n
Still, Henry said there have been resurgences in spring and summer in the past, and the province is focused on protecting people at the highest risk of serious illness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still need to be really careful and continue to use our healthy habits that prevent us from getting sick, but also from passing illness on to others.\u201d<\/p>\n
Health Minister Josie Osborne said the province is preparing to launch its latest COVID-19 immunization campaign on April 8, while ending the requirement for medical masks in health-care settings where patients are being cared for.<\/p>\n
She said the focus will be on priority populations, including older adults, residents of long-term care facilities and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, but anyone interested in getting the shot may call a pharmacy to ask about availability.<\/p>\n
<\/i> Image description: Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry at the Legislature in Victoria, British Columbia, March 28, 2025. She has grey hair, and she is not wearing a mask during the ongoing pandemic. Photo: Government of British Columbia. The image is licensed under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 generic licence<\/a>.<\/p>\n
![\"Licence](\"https:\/\/stillcoviding.ca\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/03\/by-nc-nd.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"