Vaccine rates lag as latest COVID-19 variant arrives in B.C.

The latest strain of COVID-19 which has been circulating overseas and across the U.S. is now in B.C.

There are a handful of confirmed cases and while it’s still being studied, Dr. Brian Conway with the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre says it looks to be more transmissible, but there’s no proof it causes severe illness.

As we mark the New Year with a new variant, Conway is doubling down on his previous messaging — stressing the importance of being up to date on your COVID vaccines, which seems to be a slow-go in this province right now.

The latest figures from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows 72 per cent of those 70 and older have had their fourth dose, however, that number slides considerably for each younger age bracket. People aged between 60-69 only have 54 per cent coverage, 37 per cent for those aged 50-59, while only 27 per cent of those aged 40-49 have their fourth dose, and 20 per cent for those aged 30-39. People between the ages of 12 and 29 are tied at 13 per cent.

Related Articles:

• The ‘Kraken’ strain of COVID-19 is in B.C. Here’s what we know so far

• New Simon Fraser University research could help prepare for COVID-19 variants

• Tam warns of flu upswing, new COVID-19 variants as viral triple threat continues

Conway says right now, the best protection you have is to get the bivalent shot, which has been available for months.

“The virus will probably evolve over the next year and the vaccine that we’ll get next fall will be adapted in a better way to the strains that will be circulating but please, go get your bivalent vaccine. [It] still provides significant protection against the newer strains,” he told CityNews.

In addition to getting the vaccine, he says the same rules that you’ve been told since the beginning of the pandemic still apply, like washing your hands.

“The next thing is if they are sick, they should stay home to reduce community-based transmission and send your co-workers home if they show up sick for the very same reason. And if we do those things, we should continue to evolve in the world of COVID, in which we live, and to me, those are the minimum things that we should all be doing.”

Related Video:

He says if you think you have the new variant, nicknamed Kraken, taking a rapid antigen test will still work.

“The more symptoms you have, the more sensitive the test will be, and the more likely it will be that the test will be positive. The fewer symptoms you have, the more likely it is to be falsely negative. The best approach is to do it once and if you think you’re infected, the next day, do it again, that will increase the pick-up rate going forward.”

As this new variant circulates, the federal government says Vancouver International Airport (YVR) will be among the Canadian airports where wastewater from some flights will be tested for COVID-19.

“Wastewater surveillance is an effective way to monitor for the presence of many pathogens and support public health decision-making. Wastewater from YVR is monitored through existing community wastewater sampling at the Metro Vancouver Iona Wastewater Treatment Plant, located immediately north of our airport property,” the airport authority said in a statement.

The provincial government says it’s monitoring the situation with the new variant in China and around the world as Ottawa says anyone travelling to China right now should exercise a high degree of caution.

–With files from Martin MacMahon