B.C. health minister acknowledges children's flu deaths after leak, doesn't explain secrecy

B.C.’s health minister did not disclose an exceptionally high number of influenza deaths among children until pressed by reporters Wednesday, a day after CTV News reported six such tragedies have been recorded in recent weeks. 

Adrian Dix confirmed the numbers and said he believed some of the deceased were teenagers. Sources previously told CTV News there were toddlers who died as well.

Dix did not explain why the public had to find out about the deaths through information leaked from a physicians’ meeting on Monday. 

“We don't talk about particular cases but this (is) absolutely devastating for everyone in the health-care system, but obviously and most importantly for the families involved,” he told reporters after being re-sworn as minister. “It shows the risks of the flu.”

That comment is particularly noteworthy since Dix and two of the top health officials in the province held a press conference on Monday to urge parents to vaccinate their children against the flu, but did not mention anything about fatalities. 

Typically, there are only five or six child deaths from influenza recorded annually across the entire country, according to the Impact Surveillance Network run by the Canadian Pediatric Society. 

THE BCCDC FINALLY RESPONDS

CTV News has been asking the B.C. Centre for Disease Control for statistics on how many British Columbians have died from respiratory illness since September, broken down by age.

After ignoring multiple follow-up attempts, on Wednesday the BCCDC confirmed the six pediatric fatalities but did not provide any further information on other age groups.

Officials did, however, reveal that “early findings indicate some of the children experienced secondary bacterial infections contributing to severe illness which can be a complication of influenza,” and Dix said reviews are underway in each of the deaths.

The BC Coroners Service has confirmed it is investigating the deaths of five minors in November alone where “influenza was preliminarily identified as either the immediate, antecedent or underlying cause of death, or as a significant condition.”

Dix did not directly answer a question as to whether hospital capacity issues and staffing shortages impacted the survival of the children, instead saying COVID-19 and influenza were to blame for pressures on the system, which health-care workers have described as being in a state of collapse for weeks.

"These have been the most difficult conditions the health-care system has ever faced,” said Dix.