Holiday decorations were just one of the glimmers that brightened our community last week. A long-awaited announcement about Health Canada’s approval of the first COVID-19 vaccine has given us new hope in our struggle to end the pandemic.
While very exciting, vaccine distribution will be slow to start. In the next few weeks priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including residential care occupants and staff, and those working in some emergency room, intensive care and COVID-19 units. Other early priority groups will include isolated first nations communities and people older than 80 years of age.
While timelines may shift depending on the approvals and availability of different vaccines, by spring we hope to be vaccinating most first responders, more seniors, health-care staff and many workers in essential services. By summer/fall, vaccination will hopefully be available to everyone who wants it.
Owing to the very limited supply of vaccines at present, only public health staff will be administering it for now. We do not expect it to arrive in pharmacies or medical offices for many weeks (or even months) to come. As it arrives in our community, and is available to specific groups, that information will be highly publicized.
While a majority of people surveyed have decided to get immunized against this virus, most of us will have plenty of time to learn more before we do. There are likely to be several vaccine options in the coming months, more research on specific populations, and data from millions of worldwide vaccinations to inform us.
While the first available vaccines appear to be very effective at preventing COVID-19 illness, at this point we still aren’t certain how much it will reduce transmission, how long immunity will last, or how many people will choose to get vaccinated. Until we have those answers, we must continue to use all our layers of protection.
BC Centre for Disease Control is now publishing a map each week that breaks down new cases by local health area (LHA) across the province. Powell River LHA includes City of Powell River, qathet Regional District (minus Lasqueti Island) and Tla’amin Nation. The weekly maps can be viewed at bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data.
Unfortunately, there have been several new cases confirmed in our community in recent weeks. Our neighbours on the lower Sunshine Coast are struggling with even more cases, and their first death related to COVID-19.
We are fortunate that so many people are getting tested with cold and flu-like symptoms. More than 3,000 tests have been done in the Powell River area this year. This helps to contain the virus when it does arise.
Weekly case counts will be valuable to show local trends, raise awareness, and give us accurate numbers to share and discuss. Knowing this information, however, means it is essential that we are not only supportive and compassionate, but also respectful of privacy for those affected. If we are not, others may be discouraged from getting tested, and that puts us all at greater risk.
It is also important to recognize the exposures leading to infection have happened days or weeks before those cases are confirmed. Local case counts do not necessarily predict the community risk on any given day. Even when case counts go back to zero, we must still be cautious. Currently, a major portion of COVID-19 exposures in BC are happening between family and friends in private gatherings and homes.
Amid record-high hospitalizations and deaths these past weeks, Dr. Bonnie Henry has extended the province-wide non-essential travel and social restrictions until at least January 8. This means we will have to find creative ways to celebrate and connect, without travelling or inviting friends and extended families into our homes this holiday season.
As local health-care providers, we are grateful to live in a community where so many look out for one another. On Monday, December 21, watch for the release of Resilient Together, a short video commissioned to celebrate the strength and resilience we have shown as a community over the past year (prcomplexclinic.com).
We wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday.
~ Powell River Physicians COVID-19 Steering Group
