BC sees increase in health care visits due to respiratory viruses, but not COVID-19 to blame. During Wednesday’s press conference, Dr. Bonnie Henry encouraged British Columbians to get their flu shot this fall, along with their COVID-19 booster shots, as people across the province fall ill during this year’s respiratory virus season. While the flu was largely non-existent the past two fall seasons due to measures in place to slow the spread of COVID, the province has seen a spike in flu cases in the past week and a half. The common cold is also one of the most prevalent respiratory diseases seen in the province. “In the last couple of months, one of the main causes of respiratory illness across the province has been enteroviruses and rhinoviruses, and those are what we call the common cold,” Dr Henry said. “Where we see the big increase in young people is the flu. And I say this to point out that, very importantly, influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease. We have good vaccines that work well in children. “We know that children often don’t get very sick from it, but some of them do, but they can also spread it to others.” He noted that the spread of the flu occurred earlier this year than in previous years. Photo: BC gov. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the rise in respiratory illnesses has put pressure on BC hospitals, leading to long wait times in emergency departments across the province. In September and October, BC averaged about 6,700 emergency department visits, but that daily average rose to 6,795 visits by November. This increase in hospitalizations is largely due to respiratory illnesses in young people, said Dr. Henry, but ICU care and emergency visits have increased across all ages. Photo: BC gov. Despite the long waiting times at some hospitals, Dr. Henry urged people to continue to go to hospitals if they need care, where they will be triaged based on need. Although it varies among hospitals, the province’s average hospital bed capacity is 95.4 per cent this month, up one per cent from September. Dix noted that hospitals have plans to increase capacity if needed, but that was not necessary. While COVID-19 was the biggest concern in B.C. Over the past several years, Dr. Henry noted that it did not lead to an increase in hospital visits. Photo: BC gov. He noted that most British Columbians have now built up strong immunity to COVID-19, due to vaccinations and previous infection, and most people are not at risk of serious infection from the notorious virus. “People who are vaccinated with at least two doses have half the risk of hospitalisation, intensive care or death, and this is four times higher if we look at people who have one booster dose,” he said. “It’s unlikely … with the level of immunity we have in British Columbia, we’ll see [a new variant that is] Significantly different are emerging in the short term here in British Columbia, but we’re also watching what’s happening globally.” While encouraging the use of masks for people with mild respiratory symptoms, Dr. Henry said the widespread mask mandates that were in place last year are not necessary right now. Dr Henry said she did not believe there would be a need for additional broad restrictions after the festive period, but would monitor the situation until December. ORIGINAL: 10:55 AM British Columbia’s top doctor is holding a press conference Wednesday morning to update on the province’s respiratory disease season. The District Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry will be joined by BC Health Minister Adrian Dix at 11am. to talk about the current situation regarding respiratory diseases in the province. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Henry and Deeks would hold several press conferences a week, but now there aren’t frequent updates.
