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b.c. officials insist booster shot program is working
"i don’t believe our booster program started too late. we waited for the data that showed what the optimal interval was (for booster doses)" dr. bonnie henry said.
nov 2 2021
3 minute read
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by: lisa cordasco
public health officials insist the program to give booster doses to seniors in care homes did not begin too late in b.c., despite a rise in the number of care homes reporting outbreaks.
there are currently 34 outbreaks of covid-19 in b.c. care homes, with new outbreaks being added almost daily.
dr. bonnie henry, the provincial health officer, says the program was not implemented too late, despite b.c. lagging ontario, alberta and saskatchewan by a month in starting booster shots. by mid-october, nearly all long-term care residents in ontario had been provided a booster shot.
“i don’t believe our booster program started too late. we waited for the data that showed what the optimal interval was (for booster doses)” henry said.
she said monday the province began to experience outbreaks in care homes starting in the summer at facilities where second doses had recently been provided. over the past month, public health has provided booster doses to almost all residents of care homes, as well as requiring workers and visitors show proof of vaccination.
the optimal interval recommended by the national advisory committee on immunization is that booster doses should be given to seniors six months after their second dose. however, the committee’s recommendation was not provided until the end of september — long after some provinces went ahead with the shots — which might explain why seniors in b.c. who received their second doses early this year were not given boosters over the summer.
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the b.c. government has been criticized for waiting for the naci recommendation rather than emulating other provinces. terry lake, the b.c. care providers association ceo, said last month that faster booster shots could have prevented an outbreak in a burnaby care home.
“we’re heartsick because we’ve been asking the ministry of health authorities since the first of september about … boosters,” he said in mid-october,
on monday, health minister adria dix said b.c’s booster program, which began on oct. 4, is almost complete.
“the work is substantially done, with 93 per cent of seniors having received their booster dose. the program at care homes will be finished in the next few days,” he said.
henry said despite the outbreaks, the effectiveness of vaccines and infection control programs mean those outbreaks are less severe than during the first and second waves of the pandemic.
“we are continuing to see mostly small outbreaks and that is important. as soon as we see a single case, we increase testing and monitoring and what that does lead to is identifying many people who have very mild symptoms or who may be asymptomatic,” she said. “and although we are seeing some breakthrough cases, especially among seniors who have been immunized early, it is mostly a milder illness if you are vaccinated.”
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“breakthrough cases” is medical jargon for cases that happen in the fully vaccinated
one of the longest outbreaks is at the cottonwood long-term care home in kelowna, which began on aug 4. more than 15 residents have died and more than 54 of the centre’s 221 residents have the virus. henry said many residents at cottonwoods had not received their second doses of vaccine when the outbreak started.
she said there are a number of reasons why that outbreak has been so persistent.
“there were a number of staff who were not vaccinated and there were people moved into the facility who were not vaccinated,” she explained. “and, it has multi-bedded rooms, so it is one of the most challenging outbreaks.”
the province has not said whether it has changed its policy to ensure anyone transferred to a care home has been fully vaccinated first. that shortfall was pointed out in a report on care home outbreaks by the b.c. seniors advocate that was released last month.
henry said she expects fewer outbreaks in care homes in the future.
“we are hopeful that with the booster dose and as we take increased measures with visitors and health care workers that we will continue to see that come down, but it just reminds us that this virus can be vicious when it gets into those very high risk settings.”
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with files from gord hoekstra
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