We'll know Omicron impacts next week: Dr. Henry

British Columbia’s top doctor said it’ll be another week before we know the impacts of the rapidly spreading Omicron variant on the health care system.

Meanwhile, Interior Health (IH) says, as per standard practice, staffing at Kelowna General Hospital is reviewed daily.

Speaking at the latest media briefing Wednesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the variant was increasingly transmissible, with a shorter incubation period. She said people were 10 times more likely to be reinfected after falling ill with another strain and not vaccinated.

However, she also noted Omicron is causing more breakthrough infections among those who had been vaccinated, although they are much more likely to have milder illness or asymptomatic illness, even among the elderly.

“What we don’t yet know for sure is how severe this illness will be as more and more people are infected, and how that will impact our health care system,” she said, adding that vaccines "make a huge difference."

“They may not stop all transmission but our vaccine effectiveness at preventing severe illness is still very high.”

Henry said over the past week ICU admissions and critical care numbers in hospitals were "holding steady" but the uncertainty for the coming days and weeks is still a challenge.

“We will know more in a week,” she said, calling on the public to do their part to mitigate the latest wave that she admits can no longer be prevented.

“Pay attention to how we are feeling, and who we are spending time with. People will become ill with this new infectious strain despite all we are doing, and we need to support them… we need to offer compassion without judgement.”

'Booster shot of kindness'

The government announced a record 2,944 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, with 374 of those in the Interior. The provincial active case count is 16,014. There are 193 British Columbians in hospital due to COVID-19 complications, 66 of whom are in intensive care.

In the face of what for many will be an increasingly anxious time, Henry insisted the public had control over the future, with many layers of protections to combat the ongoing pandemic in addition to getting vaccinated.

“We do have control, we have control about the things we can do to protect ourselves and our families,” she explained, adding three-layered or surgical masks could be used in indoor crowded settings. She said being respectful of people’s space was another element.

“As we look to the end of 2021 and the start of a new year, we need to give each other a booster shot of kindness once again.”

KGH staffing

Kelowna10 asked Interior Health about the impact COVID-19 is having on staffing at Kelowna General Hospital.

In response, IH said it did not have a specific breakdown of staff away due to COVID-19, but said Kelowna General Hospital continues to support the needs of patients.

“Interior Health is reviewing our staffing at Kelowna General Hospital daily and reassigning staff to areas with greatest need as required. This is our standard practice and has not changed due to staff testing positive/isolating due to COVID-19,” it said in an e-mail.

“There are ongoing pressures on the health care system related to COVID-19 and we urge everyone who is eligible to get their booster doses. It is also never too late to get your initial immunizations if you have not done so yet.”

IH seeking help to give jabs

Meanwhile, IH has repeated a call out to anyone qualified to provide COVID-19 immunizations and to provide support at immunization clinics throughout the region.

Qualified health-care providers may include: retired nurses, midwives, practicing and non-practicing physicians, nursing students, dentists, dental hygienists, first responders, including paramedics and firefighters, chiropractors.

Qualified health-care providers residing in the Interior Health region who are interested in helping with the province’s continuing immunization efforts are encouraged to reach out to Interior Health by visiting: https://ihimmunizers.myhealthinfo.ca.

With files from Vernon Matters