COVID-19: Nine new deaths in B.C. as cases in hospital hit 6-week low

British Columbia health officials confirmed nine new COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, as the number of cases in hospital fell once again.

Health officials reported 612 positive cases in hospital, an overnight drop of 41, including 102 in critical or intensive care.

Thursday’s update represents the fewest cases in hospital since Jan. 13.

Officials also confirmed 597 new cases, but limitations on testing have rendered new case counts an inaccurate metric of how the virus is spreading.

4:52 Health Matters: COVID-19 briefing and rapid testing rollout plan

As of Thursday, 87.6 per cent of B.C.’s population (90.6 per cent of those eligible) has had one dose of vaccine, 83.2 per cent of B.C.’s population (86 per cent of those eligible) has had two doses and 48 per cent of B.C.’s population (55.1 per cent of those eligible) has had three doses.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Fully vaccinated people accounted for 79.4 per cent of new cases over the past week, and 66.6 per cent of hospitalizations over the past two weeks.

Data from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control shows that unvaccinated people remain at a far higher risk of serious outcomes.

From Jan. 22 to Feb. 18, per 100,000 population, there were 168.8 unvaccinated people in hospital, 45.3 unvaccinated people in ICU and 19.7 deaths among unvaccinated people, compared to 55.9 vaccinated people in hospital, 12 vaccinated people in ICU, and 7.2 deaths among vaccinated people.

Earlier Thursday, Health Canada announced it had approved the first made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed Covifenz and produced by Quebec-based company Medicago.

The vaccine is authorized for people between the ages of 18 and 64, and has been shown to be 71 per cent effective in clinical trials.

On Wednesday, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the province would make rapid tests available for free to anyone over the age of 70. The tests are expected to begin arriving in B.C. pharmacies on Friday.

Since the start of the pandemic, B.C. has reported 346,793, while 2,840 people have died.

2:07 B.C. health officials hope approval of Novovax will increase vaccination rates