Pulse FM News Update for Monday, January 25

Dentists, bus drivers and teachers are among those disappointed they will not be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine in B-C. On Friday B-C rolled out the next stages of its age-based COVID-19 vaccination plan set to begin in April once the most vulnerable groups are immunized. Those due to get the shot by end of March include residents and staff at long-term care homes, people 80 or older and Indigenous elders over 65. The program will then expand to people between the ages of 75 and 79 followed by 70- to 74-year-olds and those with severe health conditions that put them at high risk for infection. Younger people will then get the vaccine in decreasing five-year age groups. The aim is to immunize 4.3-million people by the end of September, though health officials say timing depends on vaccine supply.

Fraser Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the Surrey Emergency Response Centre, which was set up to shelter homeless people and reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus. The health authority says two staff members and 24 clients have tested positive to date, and screening staff and clients is ongoing. It says those identified as cases and close contacts have been instructed to self-isolate, and it’s now working with the site on its COVID-19 mitigation strategies and infection control measures. Fraser Health has also declared COVID-19 outbreaks over at Menno Home in Abbotsford and The Harrison at Elim Village in Surrey.

And it seems like much longer ago but it was 1 year ago today that we discovered the first case of COVID-19 in Canada it was a 56-year-old man had arrived at Sunnybrook hospital in Toronto
with what seemed to be mild pneumonia. He recovered, but since then, more than 19-thousand people in Canada have died from COVID-19. On Friday Dr Bonnie Henry reported 508 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 63,484 cases in BC. As well as 9 new COVID-19 related deaths

Scientists and health experts are launching a nationwide campaign called ScienceUpFirst to counter COVID-19 and vaccine conspiracy theories and misinformation. The public awareness and engagement campaign will use Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to debunk incorrect information and boost science-based content. It’s being led by the Canadian Association of Science Centres,
COVID-19 Resources Canada, and the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. You can follow them on all platforms by searching science up first

A B-C Supreme Court judge has ruled that Uber and Lyft can remain on the road in the province. Nine Metro Vancouver taxi companies had filed a petition asking the court to quash the provincial approvals of the ride-hailing operators. The cab companies argued the Passenger Transportation Board failed to consider whether allowing Uber and Lyft an unlimited fleet size would promote “sound economic conditions” in the industry. But Justice Sandra Wilkinson said the board carefully considered whether to allow unlimited ride-hailing cars and while it decided against capping the fleets, it left the issue open to review in the future

There will be a ceremonial walk this evening in the U-S Capitol when members of the House of Representatives deliver the impeachment article against Donald Trump to the Senate. The second impeachment trial of former U-S president Donald Trump is set to begin in two weeks. More and more Republican senators appear to be rallying to Trump’s legal defense. The odds are dimming that he will be convicted of inciting a siege of the Capitol earlier this month.