Thursday January 6, 2022 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, B.Sc. | Island Social Trends
As a third calendar year gets rolling within the COVID-19 pandemic, Island Health today saw a record number of new cases yesterday at 566, and 417 today.
The total active case count was 3,631 yesterday in Island Health, pushing up to 3,765 today. That’s all up from 2,336 at year-end 2021.
Total cases, pandemic-to-date, are 20,288. That’s up by 2,454 (12% of total cases pandemic-to-date) in just six days, from 17,834 at December 31, 2021.
Highest-yet positivity:
The positivity rate is at its highest-ever point on the Island at 28.6% surpassing the record of 27.2% set yesterday. That’s above the current BC average of 23.9%.
Hospitalizations increasing:
Active hospitalizations are inching up in number. Today there are 61 (with 14 in ICU), down from 63 yesterday (with 14 in ICU), and clearly up from 53 (12 in ICU) on December 31 at year-end 2021.
Back on the first of December there were 49 hospitalizations (15 ICU), a week later December 8 through 13 hospitalizations were holding in the 33 to 34 range, then started to increase in number.
Total Island Health hospitalizations pandemic-to-date stands at 822 (that’s an additional 153 or 18.6% since December 1, 2021).
Different type of illness:
Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry says the Omicron variant is producing less severe illness than the Delta variant, but that could in part be due to most people being immunized.
Even people who have received COVID-19 vaccination are acquiring the Omicron variant, says Dr Henry. In the last two weeks or so, she has said that everyone should expect to be exposed to Omicron at some point, and if experiencing COVID (respiratory or cold/flu-like symptoms) to assume it’s a COVID infection at this point.
‘Everyone will know someone who has COVID’, said Dr Henry this week. Island Social Trends is taking a simple Yes/No poll as to whether you know anyone directly (family, friend or co-worker) who has become infected with COVID. Anonymous poll open to 11 am on January 7, 2022.
Deaths:
Apparently the number of deaths from COVID will not be as high with the Omicron variant. Vaccination is thought to be helping with immune response to the infection, helping to prevent the infection from becoming too severe.
COVID deaths to date at January 6, 2022 in Island Health stand at 145. That’s up from 122 (15.9% of the total deaths) just over a month ago at December 1, 2021.
Vaccinations:
In Island Health at January 6, 2022 there have been 1,615,568 COVID vaccine doses (all types) administered. pandemic-to-date. Of those, 681,369 have been second doses, and 209,147 third (booster) doses.
The pediatric Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 years has been administered as 25,218 doses so far in Island Health (32 of those have been second doses).
Of all COVID vaccine doses administered in Island Health, 59.7% of them have been the adult-dose (30 mcg) Pfizer-BioNTech, 36.5% have been Moderna, 2.2% AstraZeneca, and 1.6% pediatric Pfizer (10 mcg).
Vaccination appointments:
Today Island Health Chief Medical Health Officer Dr Richard Stanwick said that vaccinations are available at 81 pharmacies on Vancouver Island, with more to come.
People who have appointments for boosters should ‘move them ahead’, said Dr Stanwick today, as part of his advice to people in managing their risk in the face of the Omicron variant. It could also be that immunization staff shortages could happen if Omicron spreads further among health-care workers.
Dr Stanwick has demonstrated over the years that he is a straight-shooter when it comes to medical advice.
===== RELATED:
Vancouver Island COVID at Jan 5 in Year-3 (January 5, 2022)
PHO, Dix, Farnworth: health-care workers deserve everyone’s support (January 5, 2022)
COVID outbreaks at 5 long-term care homes in Island Health (January 5, 2022)
COVID rolls into 2022: tough couple of weeks ahead (January 4, 2022)