As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 leads to an unprecedented surge in cases, emergency rooms across B.C. are bracing for what’s ahead.
“We’re seeing more patients with COVID in the last few days,” said Dr. Jeff Eppler, emergency room doctor at Kelowna General Hospital (KGH).
“I imagine we’re lagging behind Ontario and Quebec, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see significant increases in volumes of COVID patients the next one to two weeks.”
Eppler said among the patients he’s seeing more of in the emergency room lately are children.
“In the first waves of COVID, we didn’t see children,” he told Global News. “We’re starting to see some children, some of them are getting illnesses related to COVID, primarily croup.”
But as far as hospitalizations go, Eppler said it’s still largely the unvaccinated being admitted.
“The truth is the people that are getting the sickest are primarily people who aren’t vaccinated,” he said. “Or people who are vaccinated, but have other health conditions or are on some kind of immunosuppressive medications for other health conditions.”
While it appears Omicron isn’t as severe as previous variants, it’s far more contagious and that means a lot more people are falling ill at once.
“So the problem is it’s maybe only a small percentage of people who will end up in hospital,” said Eppler, “but it’s a small percentage of a very large number.”
With the healthcare system already strained, any increase in patient volumes adds pressure.
“We have this aging population … we’ve got a growing population here in the Okanagan, so we’re often over-capacity in this hospital, in the emergency department, even pre-COVID,” Eppler said.
“So even a relatively small increase in our volumes can have a significant effect.”
In an email to Global News, B.C.’s Ministry of Health said the pandemic continues to put significant pressure across the healthcare system.
“Our hospitals are busy and while we tend to see a higher volume of patients in the winter due to more respiratory viruses circulating and slips, trips and falls, emergency care is available,” said the ministry.
“If you require emergency care, and are able to safely transport yourself, you should go to the emergency department regardless of how busy you believe it is.”
Eppler echoed the ministry, saying if anyone is needing emergency medical care, they should not hesitate to come in.
“We are always here for them and we try to provide the best care we can under difficult circumstances at times,” he said.
Eppler said despite vaccines not offering as much protection against Omicron as previous variants, he said they still offer enough — for the most part — to prevent serious consequences.
“We are seeing people who are vaccinated that are getting Omicron, but they’re not getting as sick,” he said.
Eppler urged anyone who has not yet been vaccinated to reconsider.
“People who are vaccinated are less likely to get sick, they’re less likely to end up in hospital and they’re less likely to end up in ICU, and they’re less likely to die from COVID,” he said.