Flu activity high in B.C. this month: officials
Posted January 14, 2026 7:28 am.
With the holidays wrapped up, doctors are sharing a better picture of how sick British Columbians are after gathering indoors.
The BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) says flu activity remains high, RSV cases are moderate, and COVID-19 is low, according to the most recent available data.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!BCCDC Medical Director of Public Health Response Dr. Jennifer Vines tells 1130 NewsRadio that the flu has been circulating rampantly since the beginning of the year.
“We started 2026 with a lot of influenza activity. About one-quarter of tests overall for respiratory viruses are coming back positive for influenza, so that’s a sign of a lot of influenza still. We know H3N2 is the dominant version of the influenza A virus that’s circulating right now, and those seasons tend to be worse with generally more illness and also more severe illness overall,” said Vines.
She adds that RSV test positivity is increasing in all age groups.
“Test positivity is approaching five per cent. COVID[-19] is much less active, so pretty stable at low levels.”
All the viruses circulating, Vines says, are increasing visits to the hospital in recent weeks.
“When we look at emergency department visits overall, we see trends similar to where we were around this time last year. Among children, close to one-third, about 30 per cent of emergency room visits were for a respiratory complaint. Among adults, it’s less than that. It’s around 12.2 per cent. Primary care — 12.6 per cent of visits among children for respiratory complaints, and for adults it’s about five per cent.”
She admits the numbers aren’t perfect, but data gives doctors a good idea of the current situation.
“We always caution interpretation of holiday week data, in particular, because there can just be changes in what clinics are open, whether or not people get tested, so we wait a little bit for hindsight to really tell us how things have settled out… What we do know is we expect more respiratory illness, in particular influenza, in the weeks ahead.”
Vines says it’s not too late to get the flu vaccine, because some protection is better than none.
“Even with a less-than-ideal match in the vaccine this year, it might be enough to protect people from severe disease and take some of the pressure off our health-care systems. We started out with an H1N1 strain, and it was quickly overtaken by H3N2 strain over the course of the fall, and that’s now made up the majority of influenza A that we’re seeing. H3N2… is one that was on our radar as having changed. That made it fairly different from the version of H3N2 that’s accounted for in the influenza vaccine. So, this is where the idea of a mismatched vaccine comes from.”
She says the respiratory illness season typically lasts into the spring.
“There is influenza B, which is another strain accounted for in this year’s vaccine, that we often see later into the springtime, so that would be another protection benefit to get the vaccine.”
Flu and COVID-19 vaccines are available at pharmacies around B.C., and patients can typically receive both at the same time.
—With files from Charles Brockman
