Two years into COVID-19 pandemic, B.C.’s communication still lacking: expert

How does B.C.’s plan to tackle the Omicron variant stack up against the rest of Canada? Kier Junos reports on the province’s plans to expand booster shot programs and rapid testing.

By Nikitha Martins and Kier Junos

Posted December 23, 2021 10:14 pm.

Last Updated December 23, 2021 10:19 pm.

British Columbians might be feeling like they’re experiencing a bit of Déjà vu this holiday season as we power through another year of familiar COVID-19 restrictions after the province saw a surge in Omicron variant cases.

It’s been just a few weeks since B.C. recorded its first Omicron case, but that has grown to 975 infections so far. In response to these numbers climbing and the fear that it could overwhelm hospitals, the province announced tightened restrictions for bars, gyms, restaurants, and indoor events and accelerated booster rollout and additional distribution of rapid tests.

Heidi Tworek is an associate professor of history and public policy at the University of British Columbia. She says it’s troubling that the government has yet again had a sluggish reaction to the coronavirus.

“It was only a couple of weeks ago that Adrian Dix was saying to us – ‘focus on Delta rather than Omicron.’ And that I think it created a lot of anxiety for people living in B.C., because many people were looking to other countries, seeing this variant already existed, and they were wondering, what is B.C.’s plan?”

While new public health orders are now in place, Tworek says they came down “quite quickly and perhaps without a lot of communication preparation for what might unfold.”

(Courtesy Government of B.C.)

Late last month, B.C. saw its first case of Omicron, and experts were quick to plead that the province take a proactive approach to the variant, which was starting to ramp up in other parts of the country.

Soon after, B.C. started to see cases grow and said that in the worst-case scenario, if Omicron spreads quickly and there is “immune evasion with the same severity as Delta,” the province could see 2,000 new infections per day by Dec. 26.

So far this week, the province has broken its record for daily COVID-19 case counts three days in a row. The latest numbers were recorded Thursday with 2,046 infections with a majority reported in Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health.

Health Minister Adrian Dix said that one in 10 people tested for COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region are positive for the virus.

With the predicted severity of case growth, Tworek suggests it would be helpful if the province reassured British Columbians that “here’s what will happen if we observe x, y, and z about this variant, then we will take a, b and c measures.

“Now that at least gives a little bit of a sense, including for those business owners as to what might be coming down the pike. But it makes very clear that’s not necessarily definitely going to happen, it’s just that we have these contingency plans in place,” she says.

For the province to communicate clearly through uncertainty, Tworek empathizes it has to say these are uncertain times and give a sense of what the policies might be ahead.

Instead, she says the orders came down “out of the blue,” much like last year, which saw many businesses scrambling because of last-minute orders.

Being nearly two years into the pandemic, Tworek says this should have been enough time for the provincial government to build its communications skills.

“I find myself with B.C. and many other jurisdictions, wondering a bit about the learning curve, as we head into a potential fifth wave in B.C… It’s a little bit distressing to see a lack of learning curve from previous waves during the pandemic. So learning that actually communicating early, clearly, and often on as many channels as possible is a crucial part of dealing with each wave of the pandemic,” she explains.

“Learning to meet people where they’re at through social media is something that we have known for quite some time and many other scholars have also proven is very crucial in terms of reaching young people.”

Tworek adds communicating with people in different languages should also be made more accessible.

While it may feel disheartening to adjust holiday plans once again to restrictions, Tworek says B.C. is in a different place.

As of Thursday, 87.7 per cent of eligible people five and older had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. More than 82 per cent of eligible British Columbians have received two doses.

Tworek suggests the next challenge the province could be facing is communicating to the vast population that has “done what was expected of them and they probably anticipated that this would in some sense, have taken them beyond these types of restrictions.”

“So I think about how to deal with and communicate around those emotions is going to be very important and carrying us through the next few weeks and months.”

B.C. is trying to speed up its booster shot program, which was initially expected to be complete by the end of April, but with the program speeding up, it should be complete by March.

While Ontario and Alberta are already providing earlier third-shot appointments for those 18 and up, B.C. still is going through the same age and risk-based criteria as it did for shots one and two.

How does B.C.’s plan to tackle the Omicron variant stack up against the rest of Canada? @KierJunos reports on the province’s plans to expand booster shot programs and rapid testing. https://t.co/SWbrkIVaoO #COVID19BC #BCPoli @CDNPoli pic.twitter.com/L6S64LjAwP

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Kelly McNagny is a Professor of Medical Genetics and Biomedical Engineering at UBC. He says, “The third boost is, I think a less of optimal timing. Once you’ve had a second boost, the third boost – it doesn’t quite matter as much.”

“The data suggests when you get the third boost, however, it gives you incredibly good protection, it really boosts your antibody tires. And I think that’s important particularly for Omicron,” he adds. “What we’ve been finding is that for Omicron virus – the vaccines tend to be less effective for that virus. However, when you boost, it does bring it close to what we see for Delta and the original coronavirus.”

If you’re not vaccinated at all McNagny warns, “You have no army.”

“That’s why people who have been unvaccinated overwhelmingly are the people who wind up in the ICU and the hospital and dying.”

By mid to late January, a significant number of rapid tests are expected to be available (11-million), according to the province, so it has said it will be expanding its rapid testing.

However, long, four-hour lineups at COVID testing centres have appeared in the region where B.C. has started giving rapid tests to symptomatic people.