Marking Three Years Since COVID-19 Was Declared A Pandemic

Saturday marked three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic.

Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam said over the weekend that the virus has reached a relatively steady state, with no new variant-driven waves of infection.

While Omicron subvariants continue to spread, hospitalizations, I-C-U admissions and deaths have stabilized.

Tam says vaccine uptake gets part of the credit in population immunity being as high as it is.

Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrien Dix issued a statement on the weekend saying British Columbians need to stay vigilant to keep the province safe - staying up to date on immunizations is the way to go.

The statement read: "The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recently issued guidance on additional booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine. B.C. will be adopting this guidance; people at high risk of severe illness including individuals older than 80, all seniors in long-term care homes, Indigenous people older than 70 and people 18 and older who are moderately to severely immunocompromised can get a spring booster."

"In addition to high-risk individuals, people 60 and older, or Indigenous people 50 and older, who have not previously contracted COVID-19, can also consider receiving a spring booster dose."

Appointments are available across B.C. at pharmacies and public health clinics.

The province says B.C. has one of the highest vaccination rates and lowest fatality rates in North America.