National

B.C. urges flu vaccines for children as cases rise

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 05 Dec, 2022 03:27 PM

VANCOUVER - The British Columbia government will be using its provincial health registry to contact parents in an attempt to increase flu vaccine rates for children.

Join Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer, and Dr. Penny Ballem, Executive Lead, Immunize BC Vaccine Operations, for an update on protecting children through the influenza season. https://t.co/kBznnTAtoA
— BC Government News (@BCGovNews) December 5, 2022

While the province is on track for a record number of people getting their flu shot this year, Dr. Penny Ballem, with BC Vaccine Operations, says only 20 per cent of children under five have been vaccinated.

Ballem says they'll be sending texts and emails to families of about 150,000 children under five inviting them to make appointments to get vaccinated.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says after two years of low rates of flu, mostly due to travel restrictions, the province is seeing a "dramatic increase" in illness and it arrived sooner than normal.

Henry says there is still time for people to get a flu vaccine to protect themselves and their children, especially as the holiday season approaches.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says visits to provincial emergency rooms had been averaging 6,700 per day, but that is now peaking up to 6,900 patients daily, with extra pressure on B.C. Children's and Fraser Health hospitals.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Surrey RCMP locate a stolen motorcycle and illicit drugs, suspect in custody

Police located just under 600 grams of suspected methamphetamine, cocaine and fentanyl in a satchel believed to have been discarded by the suspect while he fled from police. Through additional investigative steps, it was determined that the motorcycle was stolen on September 20, 2022 while being test driven by a potential buyer.

Surrey RCMP locate a stolen motorcycle and illicit drugs, suspect in custody

Workers, employers want feds to pay off EI debt

The program, which is financed entirely through premiums paid by workers and employers, accumulated $25.9 billion of debt by the end of 2021, according to the Office of the Chief Actuary. The rise in debt comes after a staggering number of Canadians were unemployed during the pandemic and eligibility rules for the program were relaxed to ease access to jobless benefits.

Workers, employers want feds to pay off EI debt

How the B.C. drought benefits some farmers

British Columbia is enduring a record-breaking dry spell, but farmer Amir Mann says the drought is far preferable to other recent weather extremes. Mann and others involved in agriculture say the downside of the drought, which has required some crops to be irrigated, is offset by benefits such as a longer harvesting period and little rot.

How the B.C. drought benefits some farmers

Wildfire flares on Vancouver's North Shore

West Vancouver Fire Rescue duty chief Matt Furlot says crews responded at around 7 a.m. He said they were trying to pinpoint the exact location of the fire and the best way to access to the flames.

Wildfire flares on Vancouver's North Shore

VPD arrests suspect in two sexual assaults

At 7:30 p.m. on July 6, a 24-year-old woman reported she had been sexually assaulted while on the escalator at the Granville SkyTrain Station by a suspect who ran away. The investigation was completed by Metro Vancouver Transit Police. A second incident occurred the following day on West Broadway at Ash Street. Just before 2 p.m. a 38-year-old woman was sexually assaulted.

VPD arrests suspect in two sexual assaults

93 year old man knocked to the ground and suffers broken hip in stranger attack

The victim – a neighbourhood resident for 30 years – was walking to a bakery near Main Street and East Pender when he was pushed over by a stranger around 3:15 Tuesday afternoon. Several witnesses stopped to help the senior, who was taken to hospital.