Dr. Bonnie Henry said she expects the viruses to peak in the next couple of weeks
Health officials say Influenza A and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are both on the rise in B.C., and hospitals in the province are treating a record number of patients as the respiratory illness season nears its peak.
Speaking at her first public briefing of the new year, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said it’s common to see a spike in illness from respiratory viruses soon after the holiday season.
“We will continue to see high rates of influenza and RSV for the next few weeks. I expect if it follows the pattern that we’ve seen before that we may have a peak in the next week or so,” said Henry. “COVID-19 activity, on the other hand, remains stable and has been decreasing since early November.”
Health Minister Adrian Dix told Wednesday’s briefing that 10,435 people were in hospital as of Tuesday night, the most the province has ever seen. He described it as a “time of challenge” for the heath-care system, but added that hospitals could “absolutely” handle the surge.
It’s crazy that BC has the highest flu and COVID vaccination rates in North America and we’re still only at like ¼ vaccinated. It’s terrible when children die, but it feels even more tragic knowing that all three flu deaths were in children who didn’t get the flu shot. Those deaths were likely preventable.
Get vaccinated, please! You’re protecting the whole community, not just yourself.
Tip for parents: get lidocaine. It’s cheap and safe and then they won’t feel the shots as much. Our kiddos used to become incredibly dysregulated with shots, so I’ve been there, but lots of social stories and modeling calmness while getting our and their shots (plus lidocaine) and they don’t mind them any more.
RSV has hit me hard over the last couple months. Not fun.
Surprising that, even having gone through Covid, now is the most hospitalizations the province has ever seen.
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QAnon conspiracy theories have no place here. There is abundant, publicly-available, peer-reviewed scientific scholarship supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Emotional arguments without any evidence must be ignored.
I realize that you will likely reject this as it does not conform to the echo chamber you find yourself in, but I think it’s important that QAnon bullshit is called out publicly for the harm it is causing to society to hopefully prevent others from listening to these toxic, hateful, invented talking points.
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