Experts caution numbers of fully-vaccinated in hospital present 'skewed' version of reality
On the surface, the numbers appear alarming.
During first two weeks of October, statistics from the BC Centre for Disease Control show nearly a quarter of people hospitalized for COVID-19 in the province were fully vaccinated.
That appears to be sharply higher than just a month earlier.
During the week of Sept. 10, for example, fully vaccinated people represented just 13 per cent of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
But experts say to understand what the numbers actually mean about your risk of a breakthrough case that lands you in hospital, you have to look at rates within the population, rather than the raw data.
“It exists only because so much more of the population is vaccinated,” said cardiologist and epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos.
“So when you just look at the raw numbers, you get a skewed version of reality,” Labos said.
Labos explained that because vaccines aren’t a perfect “shield” against infection, as more and more British Columbians are fully vaccinated, more and more will become infected with COVID-19 and end up hospitalized.
“Over time we should fully expect that the percentage of people in hospital that are fully vaccinated is going to go up, because there’s just going to be more of them,” Labos said.
Dr. Brian Conway, medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre, pointed out that those that are older and also at risk of disease are over-represented within the doubled-dosed group, which means the data has to be age adjusted to create a true picture of risk.
“When we adjust things for age, it reassures me, it is affecting those who we knew to be at risk of serious disease since the beginning of the pandemic,” Conway said.
Taking the same data from the first two weeks of October, the hospitalization rate for those fully vaccinated is 2.3 people for every 100,000.
The rate for those partially vaccinated is 10.4 people for every 100,000.
And for those not yet vaccinated, it soars to 51.3.
Put another way, and widening out to cover the span of a month, data from the BCCDC shows those who are unvaccinated are roughly 10 times more likely to be infected with COVID-19, 52 times more likely to be hospitalized, and 44 times more likely to die, than British Columbians who are fully vaccinated.
“The vaccines clearly and unequivocally have helped reduce the rates of COVID-19,” Lobos said.
A recent analysis from the BCCDC found two doses of any COVID-19 vaccine was approximately 95 per cent effective against hospitalization.
Even so, Conway expressed concern over his expectation that both older people and those more at-risk for serious disease will continue to account for an increasing proportion of serious COVID-19 cases.
“We need to vaccinate the unvaccinated as soon as we can. We need to consider third shots in more people in a targeted way,” Conway said, adding that arguments could be made for offering a booster to anyone 65 years or older, or those those had their second dose at least six months ago.
Last Thursday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry noted her team was watching breakthrough cases carefully, and digging through new data and evidence around who should be getting boosters next.
“We’ll have more to say about that soon, but that is the one of the things we’re looking at in some detail,” Henry said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Federal government grants B.C.'s request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces
The federal government is granting British Columbia's request to recriminalize hard drugs in public spaces, nearly two weeks after the province asked to end its pilot project early over concerns of public drug use.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
Stormy Daniels took the witness stand Tuesday at Donald Trump's hush money trial, describing for jurors a sexual encounter the porn actor says she had with him in 2006 that resulted in her being paid off to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
MPs agree Canadian gov't should improve new disability benefit
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
CFL suspends Argos QB Chad Kelly at least nine games following investigation
The CFL suspended Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for at least nine regular-season games Tuesday following its investigation into a lawsuit filed by a former strength-and-conditioning coach against both the player and club.
Boy Scouts of America changing name for first time in 114 years, aiming for inclusivity
The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history and will become Scouting America. It's a significant shift as the organization emerges from bankruptcy following a flood of sexual abuse claims and seeks to focus on inclusion.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Trudeau's handling of Poilievre's 'wacko' House turfing a clear sign of Liberal desperation
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
New charges for Ont. woman who previously admitted to defrauding doulas
The Brantford, Ont. woman who was previously sentenced to house arrest after admitting to deceiving doulas has been charged again in connection to a new victim.