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PoP BC Briefing #6 COVID-19 in BC Update- Addressing Omicron- No Time to Wait!

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Dec 16, 2021: Addressing Omicron – No Time to Wait!

Just like other countries around the globe, the province of Ontario is now acting swiftly ahead of the rapidly building Omicron variant wave. BC will not be spared and must prepare now for what may soon be coming. 

Meanwhile we heard at BC government’s recent COVID Update that our government is once again taking a wait-and-see strategy. As much as we are all done with COVID-19, now is not the time to let our guard down. Not with a variant that is three times more contagious than Delta and when so few BC residents have had their third vaccine dose, and children under 12 are just getting their first doses (5-11) or are still unprotected (0-4).  

“It’s time to bolster all our individual layers of protection plus add new ones to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our community safe” said Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, “by maintaining case transmission as low as possible while we urge BC Public Health to ramp up third doses.” 

Protect our Province BC’s COVID Update shares information about Omicron, why other jurisdictions are so concerned about it, and what needs to happen to keep people in BC safe. If the BC government does not act soon, the risk of collapsing BC’s health system and forcing another lockdown becomes much greater.

Streamed live on Thursday, December 16

This COVID-19 in BC Update includes the following speakers:

  • Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, Retired Emergency Physician, POP BC member
  • Dr. Malgorzata (Gosia) Gasperowicz, Developmental Biologist, University of Calgary
Get the slide deck

Highlight from this briefing

To reduce the community spread of COVID-19, Dr. Filiatrault recommends that BC residents consistently wear the most effective masks available, make better use of testing, including rapid testing, improve the quality of our air, and get a first, second, or third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

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