A total of 427 British Columbians are hospitalized with the virus, up 57 from last week, with 34 people in intensive care, down two. The BC COVID-19 dashboard reports 22 more deaths since last week and 973 new cases, which the province says is an underestimate of the actual number of people with COVID-19 in B.C. due to the limited availability of laboratory tests. The latest numbers released by the provincial government cover the week ending July 9. BC says the weekly numbers are preliminary and are being adjusted retrospectively because of delays in counting and the new way it counts weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Health officials are recommending that eligible British Columbians who haven’t yet get their third shot to protect against the current variant, but are encouraging British Columbians age 12 and older to get their second booster shots in the fall, the season where respiratory viruses are on the rise. peak. Currently, people aged 70 and over, people who are severely immunocompromised and Indigenous people aged 55 and over are the only ones eligible for a second boost. Deputy provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie says the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines for children are safe and effective. (Justine Boulin/CBC) Some provinces already extend eligibility for fourth doses to all adults, but BC has yet to follow suit.
Vaccine registration for young children opens
Health Minister Adrian Dix is encouraging parents to sign their children up for vaccination after Health Canada approved the COVID-19 vaccines for children aged six months to five years. Deputy provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie says the vaccines are safe and have helped the province deal with the pandemic. While most children infected with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, she says some can become very sick. There are approximately 208,000 eligible babies and children in BC in this age group and parents are encouraged to make an appointment starting August 2nd.
