Thread by @cbcnewsbc

LIVE: Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix provide their weekly update on COVID-19 in the province. #covid19bc twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Dix: B.C. will hold COVID-19 briefings on Dec. 21 and Dec. 29.

Dr. Henry: I did want to pause and acknowledge that we have lost a record number of our community members to the toxic drug crisis in B.C. in October. We mourn their loss.

Dr. Henry: We're seeing high rates of transmission in some communities across the province, but dramatic decreases in areas where vaccination rates have gone up.

Dr. Henry: It has been a year since our very first vaccination clinic. Since then, 9 million doses have been administered across the province. Across the province, our rates of first dose are above 70 per cent and closer to 80 per cent.

Dr. Henry: Second dose now above 60% and close to 70% across the entire province.

Dr. Henry: Cases have gone down and levelled off in the last week. Dramatic decrease in Northern Health in last few weeks. Concerning increase in Island Health, which has had low rates throughout the pandemic.

Dr. Henry: People who don’t have the protection of vaccination have a much higher rate of getting sick and being hospitalized, compared to low rates of hospitalization in people who are vaccinated.

Dr. Henry: We have had very high rates of testing across B.C. over the last period of time during this wave. We are now seeing a decrease in per cent positivity.

Dr. Henry: We have focused on making sure we have the right tests for the right people. That means we've provided gargle tests for children who have been exposed, along with nasal and nasopharyngeal tests, and, where it's appropriate, rapid testing.

Dr. Henry: The highest amount of cases is in adults 30-45. That is driving much of the pandemic. We are still seeing an increase in younger children, but we've also seen the impact of the booster doses in the 70+ population.

Dr. Henry: These are the vaccination numbers as of Dec. 7. By the end of this week, close to 90% of people 70+ will have received their booster dose. We're making really good progress.

NEW: B.C. will recruit more than 1,000 pharmacies across the province by early January to administer booster doses.

Dr. Henry: 78% of people in ICU over the past month are people who have not been vaccinated.

Dr. Henry: Age and not being vaccinated are what put you at risk of being hospitalized. In terms of breakthrough cases and hospitalizations, it's really people over the age of 70. That's what drove our early booster dose response.

Dr. Henry: With the Delta and Omicron variants, you need to get vaccinated to protect yourself. If you're an unvaccinated 50-year-old person, you're 7x more likely to be infected with COVID-19, 30x more likely to end up in hospital, and 50x more likely to end up in ICU.

Dr. Henry: 40% of children aged 5-11 have now been booked or have received a vaccine. We need to get those numbers up.

NEW: 44 omicron cases have now been confirmed in B.C. 7 of those cases are among unvaccinated people. None of the cases are currently hospitalized.

Dr. Henry: 4 omicron cases have been linked to a cluster at UVic. The introduction of the variant is related to a rugby tournament that has spread omicron to university communities across the country.

Dr. Henry: The fact that we're seeing mild illness reflects the fact that most of the omicron cases are younger and vaccinated. But there are some young people who are getting quite sick with this — it's not innocuous.

Dr. Henry: The R-value in B.C. has been hovering near 1 in most regions, meaning every case has been transmitting to less than 1 person. However, this is now starting to increase in some regions.

Dr. Henry: These are some potential scenarios in B.C. if omicron starts to spread widely, but there is a lot of uncertainty. It offers us a chance to look at potential scenarios and understand what we need to do to prevent them from happening.

Dr. Henry: There is consensus that omicron spreads faster than delta and is more infectious- how much is unknown. It can cause re-infection in people that have previous infection. People are more likely to get re-infected with omicron than with delta.

Dr. Henry: Wearing a good-quality mask makes a difference, making sure it covers your mouth and nose. We've expanded the mask mandate to include all indoor public settings, including faith settings.

Dr. Henry: The B.C. vaccine card has allowed us to come together, but it does not eliminate the risk, especially in events where people don't need to wear masks.

Dr. Henry: We should not be having large parties indoors, particularly with people we don't know. As we go into the holidays, I'm asking people to re-think those situations. Focus on your close friends and family. If you have people over, make sure they're vaccinated.

Dr. Henry: Make sure everyone in your family is vaccinated. Keep your group smalls. Maintain ventilation in your homes, including opening windows. We want to ensure this time of year is joyous.

Adrian Dix: This week, letters will be mailed to more than 1,715 people who have tried to submit vaccine records without successful upload. The letters will encourage them to get vaccinated. Records that are suspected to be fraudulent are reported to law enforcement.

Dix re: rapid tests for personal use: We need the at-home tests to be delivered by the federal government. We're expecting this supply to arrive in mid to late January. A plan will be laid out for the use of those tests. In the meantime, we have ample supply for certain settings.

Q: Will B.C. provide rapid testing for free to the public in January?

Dr. Henry: Short answer is yes. We were eyeing tests used in the UK. There is a global supply issue with many of these tests. We have not been able to get them in numbers that would be helpful for us yet.

Q: What new restrictions in B.C. should we expect before the holidays?

Dr. Henry: We have tried to put in restrictions in scenarios where we know transmission is high risk, such as the vaccine card for larger events. The mask mandate is also now more important than ever. [1/2]

DBH: I am asking people to rethink what they are doing over the holidays, particularly having large gatherings with people where you don’t know their vax status. “We need to be thoughtful about our social interactions, especially over the next few weeks.” [2/2]

Dr. Henry: We need to have the connection with family and friends, especially after last year. We are in a different place. We have high rates of vaccination. We're moving up our booster dose program. Those will help us, but we need to be thoughtful and prudent.

Q: Any measures for the Canucks considering new cases?

Dr. Henry: I wasn't aware of new cases with the Canucks. I'm concerned about how we attend the games - wearing our masks when watching the game, going to the concession or bathroom + making sure that QR codes are checked.

Q: Why are we waiting for at-home rapid tests, but other provinces like Alberta are making them widely available?

DBH: Alberta and Nova Scotia have a kit that we don't have. We were waiting on other ones that are coming in January.

DBH: I want to caution that especially in a highly vaccinated population, all of these rapid tests have limitations. When you are vaccinated, such us at UVic, you can have a low level of infection. People may use them to then go to a party. These tests are not designed for that.

Q: When do you expect omicron to be the dominant strain in B.C.?

Dr. Henry: It's too soon to say. Right now, we have very limited transmission in B.C., but we also know it's more transmissible.

Q: Documents show that we have 2 million tests on hand. Why can’t those be taken home?

Dr. Henry: 1.28 million of the tests require a health-care professional. We have ~700K tests that could be used at home, but they come in big kits that are challenging to break down.

Dr. Henry: That requires people power, using public health staff who are already running at full capacity. We have been trying to balance our resources and the strain in our labs with where these tests are most useful.

Q: Will we make booster doses available for everyone given omicron?

DBH: NACI has re-affirmed it's still important to wait 6 months. It gives that longer-lasting protection, not just for this variant but for the next variant. Everyone will be eligible 6 months after dose 2.