Thread by @cbcnewsbc

LIVE: Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix provide an update on COVID-19 in B.C. #covid19bc twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1…

Health Minister Adrian Dix acknowledges it's been two years since the first COVID-19 case was found in B.C.

“It’s certainly been a long two years," he says.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry: We are here today in a very different place than two years ago. Remembering where we have been and what we have come through can help us put where we are today into perspective.

Dr. Henry: Over half of eligible children in B.C. have received their first vaccine dose.
92.6 per cent of people across B.C. have received at least one dose and 90 per cent have received their second dose of vaccine.

Dr. Henry: We have gone through five different periods or waves of COVID-19 as shown in the slide below.

Dr. Henry: There has been no part of the province that has not been affected by this pandemic over the past two years.

Dr. Henry: Not all age groups are impacted the same by the virus. People in the 19-59 group, are the ones who are most affected by getting infected.

Dr. Henry: Those who are most likely to end up in the hospital are those who have serious illnesses. Deaths rates were higher among those who are older.

Dr. Henry: Age has been the number one most important risk factor for adverse effects from the virus. We’ve seen that in hospitalizations, in the tragic outbreaks we've had in long-term cares. No one has suffered more than our seniors and elders.

Dr. Henry: One of the things we have done is working together with our First Nation Health Authority and First Nations across Canada. Pandemics throughout history have disproportionately affected Indigenous communities.

Dr. Henry: Different tools are needed at different times. This is reflected in our testing strategy. When we had limited testing available, we needed to focus on those who were more likely to have this virus.

Dr. Henry: After our first wave, we expanded our capacity to do PCR testing.

Dr. Henry: On Dec. 9, 2020, the first vaccine was approved for use in Canada. On Dec. 15, 2020, the first vaccine was administered in B.C. That was a very positive and optimistic day.

Dr. Henry: With the first, second and Delta wave, we knew case management and contact tracing were effective for those strains of the virus because we had time to find people. We were able to control and manage the spread. That really helped us get through the three waves.

Dr. Henry: The intensity and the spread of omicron meant we needed to change our approach. It was not possible to continue trying to test everybody. Our capacity was overreached.

Dr. Henry: We had to go back to making sure the PCR testing were available for those who needed them the most. We focused on symptom-based testing on targeted populations.

Dr. Henry: By summer, with our vaccine success, there was a lot of optimism that with vaccines we would reach a level of immunity that helped us control this virus. But the increased infectiousness of the Delta variant was causing more serious infections. More need for ICU care.

Dr. Henry: We went back to tools that worked for us at the time like contact tracing, vaccination. Delta challenged us regionally. In the Lower Mainland, we weren’t seeing outbreaks we saw elsewhere where vaccination was lower. End of Nov, our first vaccine for 5-11 was given.

Dr. Henry: Then we had Omicron and we had to adapt again and use the right tools for the job. Each of these waves has had its unique challenges and our response has adapted to that. There has been five waves, many variants and likely more to come. We have to reset and adjust.

Dr. Henry: We’ve had vaccination rates that are hardly imaginable. To be able to have over 90 per cent of our population agree on the importance of this type of measure and to recognize that what we do makes a difference for our community, we need to continue to focus on that.

Minister Dix: I want to encourage people to book their vaccines when invited.

48,000 people of 70 years or older received their invite but have not booked a booster. It’s urgent this group of people get vaccinated as they are more likely to be hospitalized.

Dix: As of Thursday, 600,000 appointments are available across the province, 31,000 people booked for boosters so far.
55 per cent of children 5-11 are vaccinated or booked at the moment.
This is critical. To contribute to our collective effort and our own safety in these times.

Dix: Yesterday, there were 9,231 patients across our systems. We have 9,229 based beds and 2,053 surge beds in our system, but it is a significant challenge. That is why people need to get vaccinated.

Q. Could things change by Feb. 21 for Family Day?

Dr. Henry: There are measures we put in place in December to address higher-risk settings and to understand Omicron. We are seeing a peak. There is a strain in our hospitals, but we’re also at a point where things are changing.

Dr. Henry: People have a level of immunity because of the booster dose. The most recent orders are due for review by Feb. 16. If we are continuing on this trajectory then I do hope we will be able to lift those restrictions.

Dr. Henry: Looking at Family Day as a time to start getting back. Not opening things entirely but a gradual re-opening and coming back together. I see Family Day as one of those next steps.

Q. B.C. initiatives to get more children vaccinated?

Henry: We have been doing a number of initiatives for children. Working with children's hospitals and webinars with family doctors to take a bigger role. Reaching out through schools and doing a whole variety of that.

Dr. Henry: In terms of boosters, the 18-29 age group after 80+ are the group stepping up and getting vaccinated. These boosters we now know gives longer-lasting protection.

Q. What do you say to the most vulnerable who won’t be able to keep up, who will still have risk while others are moving on?

Dr. Henry: It’s all about balance. We still have things in place. We reinforce the importance of reducing risk in our own family.

Dr. Henry: As each of us gets vaccinated, it makes a difference in the amount of virus circulating in our community. Some people are at higher risk and we are all are taking measures to project them. It will different for all based on personal risk.

Q. Does B.C. have boosters for 12-17 age group?

Dr. Henry: We’re discussing and looking at what the new NACCI findings mean for our plan here. Next Tuesday, we will talk in more detail.

Q. High death rates. Who is dying?

Dr. Henry: About 40 per cent of people who died this month are related to outbreaks in long-term care. Most who are dying outside of those outbreaks are older people with underlying illnesses, a high proportion don’t have vaccine protection.

Dr. Henry: Two people in their 40s died. We have had younger people die as well. Younger people who aren’t vaccinated.

Q. Another clinic closed in Victoria, what is B.C. doing to address shortage of family doctors?

Dix: Significant challenges in primary care. Current funding isn’t best suited for the times. It is undergoing change. When a clinic closes it greatly impacts the community.

Dix: Creating new community health centres, urgent primary care centres, and primary care centres. We’ve seen an increase in family doctors. More than 800 new staff have been added to support primary care across the province but still more to do.

Q. How are long term care homes deciding when an outbreak is declared? What's the threshold?

Dr. Henry: It is the medical health officer in a local jurisdiction that assesses the situation in LTCs. A declaration of an outbreak is at the discretion of the medical health officer.

Dr. Henry: We're seeing in the highly vaccinated population in care homes that omicron is not causing the same amount of illness. An outbreak is a number above expected. It's a clinical illness that is severe enough to cause medical concern for a resident.

Q. LGBT community in Vancouver having difficulties getting HIV blockers and HPV vaccines.

Dr. Henry: We have seen that this virus disproportionately affects communities. I haven’t heard of these concerns. I’m happy to look into it.

Dix: Will do an update with the centre for HIV/AIDS. We will continue to lead the way. Prep program has been very successful. Interested to respond to any concerns. Will update on that in detail very soon.

Q. Should we expect to see an increase in transmission as tournaments return?

Henry: We know that for some children, activities and sports is really important for growth and development. We have measures in place to make sure it is safe.

Dr. Henry: We meet regularly with the multiple sports leagues. I expect they will be followed and the adults in those settings are vaccinated. I don’t expect a large increase in cases.