COVID-19 cases disproportionately impacting Indigenous communities in B.C.
The fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on Indigenous communities, even though members were among the first to be vaccinated in B.C.
According to the First Nations Health Authority, 14 per cent of hospitalized patients are Indigenous, even though First Nations people make up just over three per cent of B.C.'s population.
"We are definitely seeing a differential impact right now," Shannon McDonald, acting chief medical officer of FNHA, told CTV News Vancouver.
McDonald says of the more than 5,000 active COVID-19 cases in B.C., 478 are in First Nations communities, which is about nine per cent. About a third of those people have been double vaccinated. Additionally, about 20 per cent of those receiving treatment in hospital are also double vaccinated.
Dr. Brian Conway, an infectious disease expert, says the reason double-vaccinated people keep ending up in hospital is because immunization rates aren't increasing quickly enough.
"I think we need to avoid the incorrect narrative that it is an indication that vaccines don't work," he said.
"In this era of the Delta variant and other variants that are coming, the virus enters the community through the unvaccinated. It's amplified in the unvaccinated; it is then secondarily transmitted to the vaccinated."
About 76 per cent of eligible First Nations people in B.C. have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and just over 64 per cent are fully vaccinated.
"Our best tool against this is vaccination, so I strongly encourage people to take advantage of the opportunity to get vaccinated," McDonald said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.