B.C.’s COVID booster rate not high enough: Expert

As more COVID mandates are eased in Canada, some experts don’t want you to get too complacent. B.C.’s vaccination rate for third shots isn’t where it could be and that has one local doctor worried about the fall.

“I think everyone is tired of COVID-19. We want it to go away or at least we don’t want to think about it, and I think that’s what’s driving the lack of uptake of the required third dose. You need three doses to be protected against Omicron. Forty per cent of British Columbians have yet to receive it, so giddy-up,” says Dr. Brian Conway, director with the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre.

The latest statistics from the BC Centre for Disease Control shows just over 60 per cent of those 18 and older in B.C. have their third dose. The age group with the highest coverage is people 70 and older, but the rate drops off for younger age groups.

“It’s not at all OK. I think it is our first line of defence against COVID. We keep washing our hands, we stay home if we’re sick, we send sick people home, we have masks — all of these things are important — but the most important, by far, is to get all your shots,” Conway said.

“People are still getting infected. People are getting re-infected. Some people who are getting infected and taking Paxlovid are getting recurrent infection after that, so COVID is still around so we need to get our shots.”

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Conway worries about the level of complacency.

“We’re not getting the daily reports. We have no way of counting how many cases are around. We’re getting weekly reports of hospitalizations that are somewhat encouraging but they’re still probably much higher than they should be, and some people are still dying of COVID. I think we need to be aware that measures at our disposal that are dead-easy to take, should be taken,” he said.

“Vaccines are widely available, there is no shortage of vaccine. And this is very important to set us up for the fall. It is highly likely, although Dr. [Bonnie] Henry is not yet committed to this, that we will all be lining up for a fourth shot, probably to be given along with a flu shot in the fall as COVID makes a resurgence that most public health experts expect.”

A reminder any unused vaccine is thrown out, once it’s past its expiry date. “It would be a shame if we have to throw out perfectly good vaccine that should have gone into the arms of British Columbians sooner, that is a real risk.”

Last week, CityNews Vancouver spoke with Health Minister Adrian Dix who reaffirmed people hoping to get a fourth dose, or second booster, would have to keep waiting.

Dix says right now, it’s still only being offered to certain populations, like people who are clinically vulnerable. Earlier, Dr. Henry had said protection from a third dose was “good enough to get us through Omicron.”

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Meantime, one professor from UBC says it’s difficult to say how prevalent reinfections are at this point, because data is limited.

Stephen Hoption Cann, a clinical professor with the university’s faculty of medicine, says, “The variant currently (circulating) does cause people to get hospitalized at a lower rate. The real concern is not that you get infected, but you get reinfected and develop a severe illness from that infection.”

Hoption Cann adds research shows those who are not vaccinated are more likely to get COVID-19 more than once but he doesn’t feel there’s any need to bring back mandatory masking or tracking to prevent reinfections because Canadian health care needs to prioritize more immediate concerns such as monkeypox and other viruses.

With files from Claire Fenton, Denise Wong, and The Canadian Press