VANCOUVER – British Columbia is preparing for a major COVID-19 strengthening campaign this autumn with the expectation that new tailor-made vaccines will be available to combat the Omicron variant. COVID-19 reinforcements will be available for BC people
VANCOUVER – British Columbia is preparing for a major COVID-19 strengthening campaign this autumn with the expectation that new tailor-made vaccines will be available to combat the Omicron variant.
COVID-19 boosters will be available to BC people 12 years of age or older starting in September, said Dr. Penny Ballem, who heads the province’s COVID-19 immunization plan.
Invitations will begin coming out Monday for the most vulnerable 65 and older, he said Friday.
The advantage of getting the second booster injection this fall is that new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines better suited to combat Omicron variants will likely be available, he said.
New vaccines still require Health Canada approval, but the review process is underway, Ballem said.
“It’s all about autumn,” he said at a news conference. “We want you to wait to get your next booster in the fall. Fall is the best time to get the next shot. That’s when the risk is highest.”
Nearly 94 percent of BC residents have had their first vaccine, 91.2 percent have had a second, but only 59.5 have had their first booster, he said.
Ballem said 1.3 million people in BC have not yet received a third injection and should receive it immediately to ensure better protection against COVID-19.
People who feel they need their second booster now instead of the fall can contact health authorities and steps will be taken to get them their vaccine, he said.
Ballem said officials also expect to get approval in late July to vaccinate children ages six months to four, but that also needs regulatory approval.
The acting provincial health officer, Dr. Martin Lavoie, said the fall reinforcement campaign aims to provide maximum protection to people against COVID-19.
“In the fall, especially in the winter, is when we know that respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, are expected to circulate in a much higher number,” he said. “This is when a lot of people get sick and that’s when the risk of getting infected increases.”
He urged people who have not received their first dose of booster to do so and encouraged everyone to continue practicing safe habits, such as wearing masks, washing their hands, staying safe and staying safe. get home if you are sick.
BC is following the latest recommendation of the National Immunization Advisory Committee, which says people 65 and older and others at risk for disease should receive a fall boost, while those between the ages of 12 and 64 He encourages them to receive the vaccine.
Lavoie said the latest wave of the Omicron BA.5 variant is increasing hospitalizations.
He said vaccine manufacturers have learned a lot about adapting to variants and that developments are promising.
“What’s important to know now is that manufacturers have developed vaccines that will better suit Omicron, which is great news,” Lavoie said.
“As the virus moves further away from the vaccine we have now, we need to have a vaccine closely related to what is circulating to be more effective,” he said.
To date, BC has been offering second booster injections for people aged 70 and over and indigenous people aged 55 or over.
The most recent update from the BC Center for Disease Control reports 765 cases of COVID-19 for the week of June 26 to July 2, compared to 620 the previous week.
It also says there were 172 hospital admissions for COVID-19 during the week of June 26 to July 2, while there were 209 admissions the previous week.
The center says there were 24 COVID-19-related deaths last week compared to 33 deaths from June 19-25.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said 2.8 million people in BC have had their first booster, but urged others to receive their vaccine.
“Get your first reinforcement today. Do it today,” Dix said.
BC has a high vaccine acceptance rate, but the numbers can always be improved, he said.
“As a community we have adapted and we have adapted and we will have to keep adapting,” Dix said.
– By Dirk Meissner in Victoria.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 8, 2022.
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