B.C. vaccine card requirement to end on Friday
British Columbians will no longer need to show their B.C. Vaccine Card to get into restaurants and certain events as of 12:01 a.m. this Friday (Apr. 8).
That’s when that health order will be lifted, as announced today by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix who held their first COVID-19 briefing in over three weeks.
The card mandate to show proof of vaccination has been in place since Sept. 13, 2021, and was in effect for everyone 12 and older for activities like indoor concerts, theatre and sporting events, fitness centres and for restaurants, pubs and bars.
Dr. Henry said the card requirement can be lifted based on the most recent figures showing 91 per cent of British Columbians 18 and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 59 percent of that age group have had a booster shot.
As for children, 56 per cent of those aged 5 to 11 have received their first vaccine, and 321 COVID-19 positive people were hospitalized last week.
“Where we are today, it should be no surprise to most people, we’re in a reasonably good place. Since I last provided an update in March, we have continued to see progress that is in the right direction,” Henry stated.
Henry said transmissions, hospitalizations and deaths are all down since her last report, allowing a shift from community requirements, to collectively managing the virus together.
(Image credit: Province of B.C.)Henry did pay tribute to the more than 3,000 people in B.C. who have died of the virus since March 2020.
“These are our mothers, our fathers, our aunties, our friends, our loved ones.”
(Image credit: Province of B.C.)Henry said about 75 per cent of B.C.’s current new cases are the BA.2 variant.
“That’s important because that does help us understand why were seeing a slight uptick in cases, and it’s partly because we see from global data, that the BA.2 is more infectious and can spread more easily. It does not seem, however, to cause more severe illness, particularly in people who have been vaccinated,” Henry explained.
The province’s top doctor says with increased activity and travel, there will likely be a slight increase in cases over the next two months.
She says to reduce the chances of more hospitalizations among the most at risk, the province will provide a ‘spring booster’ for elders and seniors.
“We know that the older we are, the sooner that antibodies will wane and the less strong memory cell responses will be. So an extra booster dose will provide a rapid increase in antibodies, and we’ve seen that in other countries where this has been used, and we’ll provide that spring protection as we’re able to get back to more activities.”
The fourth shot (booster ) will be provided to residents of long-term care of any age, at assisted living facilities, to seniors 70 and over, and for Indigenous People aged 55 and over.
“The fourth dose will be about six months from your first booster, or dose three,” said Henry.
(Image credit: Province of B.C.)
Henry also said the current daily numbers report will change to a weekly report, starting this Thursday, Apr. 7
“What that means is that we’ll be able to automatically link data and have more in-depth, detailed and accurate reporting of numbers of the previous week to give people a better sense of what we expect to see and what the risk profile is,” Henry informed.
B.C. will also move to a new way to report people dying of COVID-19.
“It’s going to be looking at 30-day all-cause mortality in anybody who has had a COVID positive test,” said Henry.
Dr. Henry explains how the new reporting system will work:
Health Minister Adrian Dix says 4.3 million free rapid COVID tests have been distributed by pharmacies, representing more than 800,000 people, which is in addition to the more than 6 million tests in the school system, with over 9 million more tests available.
“Starting Apr. 8, people can access rapid tests at pharmacies with no care card required,” Dix said.
Dix also reported that health facilities have caught-up on surgeries postponed due to COVID-19.
He says last week was the first time since last September in which there were no surgical postponements due to the virus in B.C.
The minister said the more than 6,900 surgeries done in B.C. during a week in March was close to the pre-COVID numbers.
Masks are no longer mandatory, but Dr. Henry said they are still encouraged in indoor spaces when you are close to people you don’t know.
“But we no longer feel its necessary to have a legal order that requires you to wear everyday in those settings,” said Henry in response to a media question about Quebec and Prince Edward Island extending their provincial mask mandates until later this month, days after the Public Health Agency of Canada said a resurgence of COVID-19 is likely to be underway.