to give an idea of the risks of not being vaccinated the province calculated age-adjusted rates, showing that you are 12 times as likely to get infected with covid-19, 34 times as likely to be hospitalized and eight times as likely to die if you are unvaccinated.
b.c. health minister adrian dix said there are encouraging signs that young people are picking up the pace of vaccination.
he noted, however, there are still also older people who remain unvaccinated: 168,000 people 60 years and over, who are most at risk of severe illness and death from covid-19.
“when we get vaccinated we make ourselves safer, we make our loved ones safe, we make our communities safer,” said dix. “it is the right choice.”
particularly concerning have been hot spots in the interior and northern b.c., where the province has reinstituted restrictions on the size of gatherings. across the province, masks must also once again be worn inside.
also of concern is that even fully vaccinated seniors in long-term care homes who have contracted the virus are getting ill and some are dying.
henry said that people in long-term care will be eligible for a third, booster, shot in october and immune-compromised people such as those with blood cancers will be eligible for a third, booster, shot in september.