as of last friday, almost half of all cases in intensive care were in interior health hospitals, while 56 per cent of all active cases in the province are in that region.
it is younger people now who are spreading the infection
in her most recent press conference, provincial health officer dr. bonnie henry said the fourth wave of transmission was being spread mostly among people aged 20-40.
“we know that many people in this age group were the last to access vaccine and for many of them case counts had come down and it may not have been a priority with the many different things people have going on in their lives,” henry said, adding most of the disease was spreading at social events that were permitted when the third round of restrictions were lifted.
some of those restrictions have now been reintroduced in interior health, including the closing of pubs and nightclubs and mandatory mask wearing in indoor public spaces.
the first two stages of the pandemic were driven by older age groups, in particular people living in assisted living and care homes who also took the brunt of the pandemic’s death toll.
we have vaccine and a high vaccination rate in most places
the first two waves of infection occurred as scientists across the world frantically developed vaccines. the pfizer and moderna mrna vaccines proved to be the most effective and were introduced in canada in late december and played a key role in beating down the third wave. as of last friday, across b.c. 68.9 per cent of all eligible people (aged 12 and over) had received the double dose of vaccine needed to maximize immunity.