Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says BC saw an earlier-than-usual COVID-19 peak this year, but it’s already levelling off as more people roll up their sleeves for a vaccine booster.
During a news conference Friday, Henry said that hospital and critical care admissions for COVID-19 have decreased in the past two weeks from a peak in early October.
“We had a fairly early peak of COVID. And it has levelled off now and started to come down.”
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Henry had other updates on the prevalence of COVID-19 antibodies in people’s blood and other respiratory illnesses.
By now, most people in the province have either been infected with COVID-19 or had doses of vaccine, meaning there’s a higher level of immunity in the population than when the virus first came on the scene.
When it comes to other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza and RSV, the province is seeing higher-than-expected levels of circulation, higher than what was seen pre-pandemic, but not as bad as last season when a massive spike was seen during the first fall season without public health restrictions.
The province will enter the worst part of respiratory illness season in the next few weeks, and Henry urged residents to book appointments for their flu shots and COVID-19 boosters. Anyone who hasn’t yet been texted or emailed an invite link can book by calling 1-833-838-2323.
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