BA.5 Omicron variant drives increase in B.C. hospitalizations, as residents urged to get boosted

COVID-19 hospitalizations in B.C. are up 15 per cent from last week, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control's latest data on the pandemicshared byprovincial health authorities on Thursday.

A total of 426British Columbiansare in hospital with the coronavirus,an increase of 57 from last week, with 34 people in criticalcare, a decrease of two.

The B.C. COVID-19 dashboardis reporting22 moredeaths since last week and 973 new cases, which the province says is an underestimation of the actual number of people with COVID in B.C. due to the limited availability of lab testing,

The latest numbers released by the provincial government encompass the week ending July 9.

B.C. says the weekly numbers are preliminary and areretroactively adjusted due to delays in the count and the new way in which it measures weekly cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

Health officials are recommending eligible British Columbians who have not yet done so get their third shot to protect against the current variant but are encouraging British Columbians 12 years and older toget their second booster shots in the fall, the season when respiratory viruses are at their peak.

Currently, people 70 and older, those who are seriously immunocompromisedor or clinically extremely vulnerable, and Indigenous people 55 years and older are the only ones eligible for second boosters.

Some provinces are already expanding eligibilityforfourth doses to all adults, but B.C. has yet to follow suit.

Vaccine registration opens for young children

Health Minister Adrian Dix is encouraging parents to register their children for vaccination after Health Canada approved COVID-19 vaccines for children aged six months to five years.

Acting provincial health officer Dr. Martin Lavoie saysthe vaccines are safe and have helped the province weather the pandemic. While most children infected with COVID-19 have mild symptoms, he says some can get very sick.

There are about 208,000 eligible babies and children in B.C. in that age category and parents areinvited to book an appointment beginningAug. 2.