B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix updates the province about COVID-19. (Photo from BC government flikr.)
More than 9,000 COVID-19 vaccines were given in a single day this week, most of those second doses. But at the same time, 16 new cases of “variants of concern” were reported.
As of January 30, there were just 25 variant cases discovered in B.C., while we are now over 120, including 95 cases of the B.117 variant first found in the United Kingdom and 21 cases of the B.131 variant first found in South Africa.
B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry warned that the seven-day moving average, the percentage of positive tests and the reproductive factor have all been increasing in the past two weeks, particularly in Metro Vancouver. It won’t be until these indicators slow down in a sustained way that restrictions will be eased, Dr. Henry said.
Transmission has been from social events, religious services, and workplaces, Dr. Henry says. "It's about connections between people when we don't have the right safety measures in place," she says.
Most recent deaths are occurring in acute-care settings, and mostly affect people who are older and living in the community , Dr. Henry said.
Recently though, there have been three deaths of people in their 30s, who either had underlying conditions or who were Indigenous, she said. A total of six people in their 30s have died of COVID-19 in B.C. to date, the latest BC Centre for Disease Control statistics show. No one younger than 30 has died of COVID-19 in B.C. to date.
No one in B.C. is known to have died from a variant of concern and it’s still unknown if the variants are more deadly, Dr. Henry said.
About 75 to 80 per cent of all positive tests in B.C. are now screened for variants, a program that Dr. Henry said should increase to 100 per cent next week.
One-quarter of the known variant cases come from unknown source, Dr. Henry says. That’s comparable to the 26 per cent of all cases in B.C. that have unknown origin. There are also variants that were first seen in Nigeria, California and New York, but not a lot is known about them.
Variant cases were found in seven schools in Fraser Health last weekend and all were followed up with increased testing. So far, six other people, five students and one staff member, have also tested positive. It’s still unknown if those people were infected with a variant, Dr. Henry said.
Dr. Henry terms this a period of “vaccine hope and pandemic reality” and only time will tell the outcome. All of the above can be thought of as the pandemic reality, while the hope lies below, in news of the vaccine program.
Vaccinations are definitely slowing outbreaks in long-term care homes, but still on Thursday, 10 deaths in a single day were reported.
Earlier in the week, B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported a day with no new deaths on long-term care. That's due to vaccines, Dr. Henry said.
“It really is remarkable,” she said.
So far, single doses of vaccines are showing as much as 80 per cent effectiveness. The vaccine program in B.C. is ramping up, with details expected on Monday morning. British Columbians older than age 80, who are not in long-term care are next on the list, probably before March 31.
There have been 292 adverse effects after vaccines, Dr. Henry said earlier this week. Nineteen of these are anaphylaxis reactions, while the rest were unspecified, but are believed to be things like a sore arm or feeling unwell after vaccination.
Meanwhile, here is some other news from this week:
- The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States surpassed 500,000. The total number of cases in the U.S. is nearing 30 million. In Canada, we are nearing one million total cases and 22,000 total deaths.
- Some essential workers may leave their professions after the pandemic, the Vancouver Sun reports.
- The annual number of deaths fell last year in Japan, despite COVID-19. It could be because social distancing techniques slowed other diseases, the New York Times reports.
- A new SFU study found that vaccinating essential workers before seniors could save lives, the Canadian Press reports.
- Despite economic woes related to COVID-19, Canada’s housing market is surging. Low interest rates, a desire for more outdoor space or other factors could be driving it, the Vancouver Sun reports.
- The COVID-19 vaccines can cause swollen lymph nodes under the arms, which can be mistaken for breast cancer, which means mammograms should be put off at least four to six weeks after vaccination, Reuters reports.
By next week, many more thousands of British Columbians will have been vaccinated. Let’s hope that is reflected in those important indicators that will see fewer deaths and looser restrictions.
To make sure you never miss a post, click to subscribe.
Kommentare