BA.5 Omicron option leads to increased BC hospitalizations as residents urged to receive stimulation

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 in British Columbia are up 15 percent from last week, according to the latest BC Center for Disease Control data on the pandemic shared by provincial health officials Thursday.

A total of 427 British Columbians are in hospital with the virus, up 57 from last week, with 34 people in critical care, down two.

BC’s COVID-19 dashboard reports 22 more deaths since last week and 973 new cases, which the province says is an underestimate of the actual number of people with COVID in BC due to limited availability of lab tests.

The latest figures released by the provincial government cover the week ending July 9.

BC says the weekly numbers are preliminary and have been retroactively adjusted due to delays in the count and the new way it measures weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Health officials are recommending that eligible British Columbians who have not already done so get their third shot to protect against the current variant, but are encouraging British Columbians age 12 and older to get their second booster shots in the fall. the season when respiratory viruses are at their peak.

Until now, people 70 and older, those with severe immune compromise and local residents 55 and older were the only ones eligible for a second booster.

Acting provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie says the COVID-19 vaccines recently approved for children are safe and effective. (Justin Boulin/CBC)

Some provinces are already expanding eligibility for fourth doses to all adults, but British Columbia has yet to follow suit.

Vaccine registration for young children opens

Health Minister Adrian Dix is ​​encouraging parents to register their children for vaccination after Health Canada approved vaccines against COVID-19 for children aged six months to five years.

Acting provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie says the vaccines are safe and have helped the province weather the pandemic. While most children infected with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, he says some can become very ill.

There are approximately 208,000 eligible infants and children in British Columbia in this age category, and parents are invited to make an appointment starting August 2.