BC outlines biggest risk factors for COVID-19 hospitalizations

Amid a week of confusion when it comes to pandemic response in BC, health officials held a press conference outlining the major risk factors when it comes to COVID-19 hospitalizations.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry was joined by Health Minister Adrian Dix to share the newly compiled data on Friday morning.

Age, sex, and vaccination status seem to be the primary metrics that can impact whether or not someone will end up in hospital after contracting COVID-19.

The elderly are the most vulnerable. Data shows people who are 80 and older are 28 times more likely to be hospitalized. Those 70 and over are also at increased risk.

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In recent weeks, BC has broken records when it comes to the number of people admitted to hospital. But that doesn’t mean people are becoming more seriously ill. Dr. Henry clarified that it just means more people are being infected overall. Compared to the Delta variant, there are actually fewer people being hospitalized.

Young people continue to be at less risk for severe illness, and are unlikely to end up in hospital after being infected with Omicron.

Sex was another key risk factor, and Henry said that men are more likely to be hit by severe illness and end up in hospital than woman “for a variety of reasons.”

People who are pregnant are also considered to be another high risk group and could see severe symptoms after being infected.

While the Omicron variant continues to be “different” according to Henry, being fully vaccinated with a booster dose is the best way to prevent severe illness.

One of the main reasons BC health officials are collating this data is to see who should be prioritized for COVID-19 treatments, like Paxlovid, the anti-viral medication developed by Pfizer that will be available to the public soon.

“If we have symptoms that might be COVID, that might be influenza, it might be a cold, we need to stay home till we feel better,” said Henry.