The provincial health care system is bracing for a wave of declines and is looking at a recommendations of the federal advisory body that booster doses will be widely available, Dix said at a press conference on Monday. Meanwhile, the BC COVID-19 Modeling Group, made up of multidisciplinary experts working independently of government, warns that a wave of COVID-19 driven by the more infectious and immune-evasive BA.5 subvariant of Omicron appears. Dix said everyone should plan to get another shot in the fall. “We must protect those we love and protect ourselves in a pandemic that continues to affect us.” Dix did not provide further information on whether the installments would specifically target BA.5 or how they would be released. It comes as the province prepares to roll out more than 200,000 doses of vaccine amid slow recruitment of third and fourth shots. Currently, fourth doses are only available to people aged 70 and over, Indigenous people over 55 and people in long-term care — six months after their last booster. (Ben Nelms/CBC) Public Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry said two weeks ago that those hoping for a fourth dose would have to wait until they were eligible. They are currently only available to people aged 70 and over, Indigenous people over 55 and people in long-term care — six months after their last booster. Dix also said the province would not rule out bringing back indoor masks in the fall and encouraged people to get vaccinated. About 1.4 million people eligible for a third dose have not received it, Dix said, adding that vaccination is the best protection against COVID-19. Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Center for Infectious Diseases, said people should take precautions — especially to avoid long COVID. “I don’t want to hear on the street, as I often hear: ‘Thank God it’s over.’ It’s not over. It may never be fully finished,” he said. “Most experts suggest that there will be a significant increase in transmission in the fall.”
10% of the medical staff are sick
COVID-19 is having a significant impact on the province’s health workers, Dix said. Numerous emergency rooms and acute care units have been closed in BC for the past few weeks due to staff shortages. “There were 16,400 people who missed at least one day due to illness last week in the public healthcare system,” he said. “That’s on a base of about 160,000 workers … so about 10.2 percent.” Normally it would be about six percent, he said, adding that COVID-19 is contributing to the increase in numbers. Asked what the province is doing to prevent closures, Dix pointed to new hiring initiatives. “We’re going to continue to do this work in the communities to make sure people are safe, our workers are safe and most importantly, patients are safe,” said Dix, who was speaking at a news conference announcing a new hospital in Surrey, about 34 km southeast of Vancouver, which is expected to begin construction next summer.
