Number hospitalized with COVID-19 in B.C. hits highest level since October

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The number of patients with COVID-19 in B.C. hospitals rose slightly this week to 374, the highest level seen in the province since Oct. 20.

The hospitalized population with COVID remains lower than it was at various points over the summer, however, despite surging respiratory illness that has strained pediatric emergency rooms across B.C.

This graph shows the number of people in hospital with COVID-19 on Thursdays since B.C. switched to a "hospital census" model for counting them in January. (CTV)

Current hospitalization totals include both those who have serious cases of COVID-19 requiring medical care and those who are admitted to hospital for other reasons and test positive for the coronavirus incidentally.

Health officials estimate that between 40 and 50 per cent of people hospitalized with COVID-19 at any given time in B.C. are there because of the disease, while the rest are incidental cases.

Since the province began counting hospitalizations this way in January, there have been as many as 985 and as few as 255 patients in hospital on Thursdays.

CASES AND WASTEWATER

The slight rise in the hospital census comes alongside modest increases in official case counts and a slowly increasing trend in the concentration of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Metro Vancouver wastewater. 

As of Thursday, viral concentrations had been rising at all five wastewater treatment plants in the region for at least the last six epidemiological weeks, up to the week of Dec. 4 through 10.

Similarly, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reported Thursday that it had detected 659 new COVID-19 infections through lab-based testing during the week ending Dec. 10. That's 120 more than the 539 reported during the preceding week, an increase of about 22 per cent. 

The official case counts the BCCDC releases each week include only those who test positive on a PCR test for the first time. Reinfections are excluded, and the province does not track the results of at-home rapid antigen tests, which are the only type of test available to the vast majority of British Columbians.

Because of these considerations, experts have estimated that the official weekly case count is likely off by roughly 100-fold.  

RESPIRATORY ILLNESS AND VACCINATION

While COVID-19 continues to contribute to the health-care burden in B.C., it has taken a backseat to other respiratory diseases in recent communications from public health officials.

Last week, after information presented to doctors was leaked to CTV News, health officials acknowledged that six children had died from influenza so far this season, and promised to include data on mortality in weekly respiratory updates going forward. 

As of Thursday afternoon, the "key messages" document that the BCCDC releases weekly – and which included the flu death information last week – had not been updated yet this week.

Nor had data on community visits for respiratory illness, which the BCCDC compiles weekly from doctors' billing records. For weeks, that data has shown a rise in people visiting doctors for respiratory symptoms, but visits specifically coded by doctors as COVID-related have remained fairly steady. 

Last week, the province launched an immunization "blitz" aimed at improving flu vaccination rates among young people. The Ministry of Health said Monday that 77,532 shots were administered between Dec. 5 and Dec 11, and that immunization rates had risen from 21.2 per cent to 26.3 per cent among kids under age five, from 19.5 per cent to 22.6 per cent among kids five to 12, and from 14.6 per cent to 16.9 per cent among teens.

For COVID, overall vaccination rates are considerably higher, but uptake of the latest round of boosters has been comparable among children.

Province-wide, just 17 per cent of children under age five have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and only eight per cent have received two doses.

COVID vaccines only became available for this youngest age group over the summer. 

Among children ages five to 11, 52 per cent have had one shot, 41 per cent have had two, and only 17 per cent have had a booster.

Health Canada approved COVID vaccines for children five to 11 in late 2021.

Among those ages 12 to 17, 83 per cent have received one shot, 79 per cent have had two, 37 have received a booster and 12 per cent have had a second booster, according to data from the BCCDC. 

During the week of Dec. 4 through 10, the province administered a total of 60,271 new doses of COVID-19 vaccine. That's the lowest weekly total seen in B.C. since September, which was before the fall booster campaign began.