While more people are in hospital with COVID-19 than ever before during the pandemic, BC’s top doctor said hospitalizations have likely peaked and are expected to fall in the weeks ahead.
During a live COVID-19 press conference Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry revealed data that showed that Omicron hospitalized more people, but that Delta was more lethal over a two-month period.
As of this publication, there were over 1,000 people in hospital due to the virus, with about 90% of the admissions related to the Omicron variant.
The new information also shows that people who have been infected by the Omicron variant have stayed in hospital for less time than those who were hospitalized with the Delta variant.
In addition to the new data released this afternoon, Henry also confirmed BC will be sending invites to all British Columbians aged 12-17 with information about booster doses once they’re six months past their second dose.
Henry said invites would be sent out with information on the benefits and risks of boosters—”giving you the ability to make that decision and book yourself.”
“And we do, of course, continue to strongly recommend that anybody who has an underlying condition that puts them at risk does get the booster dose,” Henry said.
To date, 90.1% (4,174,214) of eligible people 12 and older in BC have received their second dose and 45.9% (2,125,735) have received a third dose.
As of this publication, there are currently 27,454 active COVID-19 cases in the province with 1,364 of those cases being in the Island Health region.
