B.C. COVID-19 modelling group says numbers show new COVID-19 wave starting

CHEK

Just as British Columbians are preparing to gather with friends and family for Thanksgiving, the latest report from the BC COVID-19 Modelling Group shows yet another wave of the Omicron variant has started.

“So we’re starting to see a resurgence of COVID-19 not because of a new variant,” said group member and UVic physics professor Dean Karlen. “This time, we’re seeing a resurgence because of immunity waning.”

Karlen says each day, thousands of British Columbians are losing their immunity because their last vaccination or COVID infection happened so long ago.

Karlen says that based on hospitalization numbers, there are an estimated 6,000 new COVID-19 infections every day with the number starting to climb. And while hospitalizations are considerably lower than the peak of the first Omicron wave in January, they too are climbing higher.

He says while the wave has already started, the bivalent booster could keep the peak down and the pressure off hospitals if enough people get one as soon as they can.

READ MORE: Fall rollout of COVID-19 bivalent vaccine could include schools for the first time

“If people have the opportunity to get vaccinated over Thanksgiving, that’s going to have a bigger effect than changing behaviour dramatically.”

April LawrenceApril Lawrence

Recent Stories

Send us your news tips and videos!