A new report suggests B.C.’s COVID-19 vaccination plan isn’t enough to see life return to normal by fall. Researchers at Simon Fraser University find the province simply will not have inoculated enough British Columbians by September, according to the current plan, to reopen at that point without the number of cases rising substantially. They believe vaccinating children may be one of the keys to ending measures like physical distancing. The research points out that when B.C.’s current vaccination plans are finished, “a substantial portion of the population will be unprotected by vaccination,” including children (for whom COVID-19 vaccines are not yet approved), adults who decline the shot, and “those for whom the vaccine did not prevent infection.”
The modelling suggests the province’s current plan will only protect 51 per cent of the population, with all adults who want the vaccine getting their second dose by the fall. That is well short of the 60 to 70 per cent needed for effective herd immunity. Vaccinating children could easily bump up the number of those immunized to over 60 per cent of the population, the report suggests. However, it notes it’s unlikely we would be able to get children as young as 10 inoculated by September, given the timeline for regulatory approval.” Vaccines are only administered to people who want them, and none of those currently in use in Canada are approved for children.
Unclear messaging to pharmacies across B.C. means some people turning 40 this year have been turned down for their AstraZeneca shots when they shouldn’t have been. According to the B.C. government website, the eligibility cut-off is a 1981 birth year. However, multiple people who are months away from being 40 and born in 1981 have been turned away. Naomi McCormick went through this and said “When I tried to [book with] my local pharmacy, I was immediately X’d and he said ‘you’re not old enough,’” ‘you absolutely have to be 40 the day you get the vaccine. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts.’ This was the day that the age eligibility changed from 55 to 40, so there probably was just confusion within pharmacies. McCormick says based on her experience, it feels like it’s a bit of a “gamble” for British Columbians experiencing similar barriers. McCormick has her immunization booked for Thursday, and she says she hopes when she gets there, she’ll actually be able to receive the shot.
Today on Earth Day Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promises Canada will slash its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent within the next decade. The new target is higher than the 36 per cent reduction in emissions the Liberal government says it can achieve under existing measures by 2030. However Canada’s new target falls short of the minimum 50-to-60 per cent reduction climate groups say is needed to limit global warming to 1.5 C degrees. Trudeau announced the higher target during a virtual climate summit of world leaders convened by U-S President Joe Biden.
He had pledged to cut his country’s emissions by 50 to 52 per cent by 2030.
India reported a global record of more than 314,000 new COVID-19 cases Thursday as a grim coronavirus surge in the world’s second-most populous country sends more and more sick people into a fragile health-care system critically short of hospital beds and oxygen. The dire situation has Canada’s government looking into flights from India. On Wednesday, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Ottawa has generally opted for measures that are not country-specific, such as COVID-19 testing and government-mandated quarantine. However, she added India could be a special case — as was the U.K., from which flights to Canada were banned for a period of time — due to a “variant of interest” there that may be fueling the explosion in infections. That variant, known as B.1.617, has been identified in B.C. The Ministry of Health says 39 cases were identified early April. According to the federal government, there have been 35 flights from India with at least one case of COVID-19 that have arrived in Canada in the last two weeks.
People travelling within the Lower Mainland will not be subject to checks on travel when restrictions come in later this week. “The Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health authorities will be treated as one health authority,” Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said of check-stops. “You’re likely to see something at the [BC] Ferries, for example,” he added. “The other obvious location is when you head into the Interior just before Hope, if you were going to take [Highway 1] or the Hope-Princeton, or the Coquihalla. But you will not be seeing anything on Boundary Road — in Vancouver or Burnaby, or the Tri-Cities, for example.” The public safety minister clarified on Tuesday that police would not be randomly stopping people on roads to make sure they aren’t travelling outside their health region during the pandemic. Farnworth says the travel restrictions, set to take effect Friday, could prevent people from coming into B.C. from elsewhere in Canada.
Surrey is hosting the 10th annual ‘Party for the Planet’ Earth Day celebration and this year you can join it via Facebook and YouTube Live. The free event will take place from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm and will feature local talent and Indigenous performances. The online event will include arts and crafts, photo booths, scavenger hunts, educational workshops, and children’s yoga. Viewers will also be able to purchase treelings for $20 from the Surrey city website. This year marks the 11th year of the community initiative, though it will be celebrated as the 10th anniversary due to the COVID-19 cancellation of 2020. “The main objective of this event is to educate residents and viewers on educational program services that the city is offering, as well as to empower people to make small changes in their life. To change their daily habits to try to live more sustainably and decrease their carbon footprint,”
We may be in the middle of a pandemic and waiting on restrictions but thats not stopping playland. Playland is getting set to reopen its doors and welcome masked-up guests into the mark tarting may 1 This season will offer an expanded selection of rides, including Enterprise, Scrambler, and Hell’s Gate The Pirate Ship will also be in full swing, and there are plenty of options for smaller kiddos too, including Bug Whirled, Honeybee Express, and Flutterbye. Tickets are now on sale for visits on Saturday and Sunday throughout May, and they are limited to comply with health measures set out by the province. According to the Playland website, there will be an emphasis on prioritizing safety for guests, and the event will be “operating with significantly reduced capacities, physical distancing, enhanced cleaning procedures.” And, just as last year, “masks will be required on rides and in all queue lines,” which will be mandatory for anyone over the age of two. A new guideline has also been added to comply with public health orders, urging guests not to travel outside of their local health authority. The park’s tagline amid the pandemic has been “Safe, Clean Fun.”
B-C’s health officials are scheduled to give an update on the number of COVID-19 cases in the province at 1 p-m today. The province reported 862 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, for a total of 121,751 infections. The government says there are seven COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total number of fatalities to 1,546. It says there is no new update on the variants of concern. It also says over 1.4 million doses of vaccines have been given of which 88,335 are second shots.
British Columbia’s provincial health officer says the health-care system is under immense pressure right now with a record high 502 people hospitalized with COVID-19. Dr. Bonnie Henry is urging people to take care of health workers by staying local and sticking to safety measures. Henry adds that coming restrictions on non-essential travel will keep people from visiting COVID-19 hot spots. B-C’s solicitor general says the government will release details of what is considered essential travel this week, as the province looks at using roadblocks to limit the spread of the virus.
A fire is burning in the industrial area just off of Tannery Road near Highway 17 in Surrey. Traffic is slow through that stretch right now, with thick black smoke blowing across Highway 17. Steve Serbic, assistant chief of operations for Surrey Fire Service, said the fire is at a recycling company “so what they have is a large pile of basically recycling material and it’s hard to tell what inside of it … So it’s generating a lot of black smoke, so I think people in New West and Surrey can see this. “It’s just a pile of recycling materials that the crews are going to have to pick away at and put a bunch of water on it.” Serbic said the call came in just before 3 p.m. As of 3:30 p.m., Serbic said the fire was contained to the pile, and no injuries were reported. He added it might take the crews “a little while” to clear it.
Hospitals in the Lower Mainland have been told to postpone non-urgent surgeries as COVID-19 hospitalizations hit a record high of 502. Health Minister Adrian Dix says one-thousand-750 surgeries have been delayed at nine hospitals in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions. Scheduled surgeries will be cancelled for two weeks to ensure hospitals have the critical care staff necessary to treat patients. The province reported 1,006 new cases of COVID-19 today and four more deaths, pushing the total to 1,550.
A B-C Supreme Court judge has rejected Gabriel Klein’s bid to be declared not criminally responsible in the stabbing of two high school girls in Abbotsford in 2016. Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes rejected Klein’s argument that a mental disorder made him unable to appreciate that his actions were wrong. Holmes said his testimony was unreliable and that there were many other explanations than psychosis for his actions. Klein will now proceed to sentencing after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of 13-year-old Letisha Reimer and the aggravated assault of her friend.
Police say the man killed outside a Langley sports complex yesterday morning was an associate of the United Nations gang for almost 20 years. Police say they have not yet found an obvious motive for the fatal shooting of 46-year-old Todd Gouwenberg but it was targeted. The killing is not being linked to two other fatal shootings in Metro Vancouver since last Saturday that also happened during daylight in busy areas. But investigators say a gangland conflict that has simmered for almost two decades has flared up again.
Police in Surrey are looking for a suspect after they say three young girls were followed home from school on Wednesday in Guildford. Surrey RCMP say the girls were walking home from Riverdale Elementary School at about 4 p.m. when a man started following them. The girls walked from the school to Holly Park on 148th Street. When the man continued to follow them, they went into a nearby grocery store for help. The suspect left the area when the girls went into the store. Police say the suspect is described as Middle Eastern, in his late teens or early 20s, approximately 5’10”, with black messy hair, a moustache and dark stubble. He was wearing blue jeans, black hoody and red shoes. He was also seen carrying a blue portable speaker. “In this case these girls did the right thing,” says Cst Sarbjit Sangha, Surrey RCMP Media Relations. “If you suspect you are being followed go to a safe place, or approach other people in the area, and call police for help.” Anyone with more information is asked to contact the Surrey RCMP at 604-599-0502. If you wish to make an anonymous report please contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or solvecrime.ca.