144 more people have been admitted to hospitals in B.C. in the past week and seven more deaths are reported to take the fatality toll from Swine Flu to 30. More than 20 have died in the past three weeks. B.C. hospitals are crowded because of H1N1.
VICTORIA, B.C. – Seven more B.C. residents have died from Swine Flu while 144 additional people have been admitted to already overcrowded hospitals across the province.
B.C.’s death toll now stands at 30. Health officials said 23 of those who died had underlying medical conditions but seven people did not.
Underlying medical conditions such as asthma cause rapid complications in people who get infected by the new virus that first surfaced around April.
Two deaths from Swine Flu revealed Tuesday occurred last week but were reported late to the health authority.
“144 new severe cases of H1N1 identified in B.C. – 49 in Fraser Health, 42 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 30 in Interior Health, 15 on Vancouver Island and eight in Northern Health – with five new deaths, including two in Interior Health, one in Vancouver Coastal Health, one in Fraser Health and one on Vancouver Island,” said a health ministry bulletin.
The five additional deaths and 141 new hospitalizations occurred since Nov. 10, according the government
bulletin.
755 people have been hospitalized since April, but a vast majority of hospitalizations have occurred since October when the second, more intense wave hit B.C. and other regions of Canada.
The government issues results based on health regions covered by the various provincial health authorities.
So far, hospitalizations and deaths have been reported as follows:
o 304 in Fraser Health, including 12 deaths.
o 160 in Interior Health, including six deaths*.
o 33 in Northern Health.
o 203 in Vancouver Coastal Health, including seven deaths*.
o 55 on Vancouver Island, including five deaths.
Currently, the following groups are now eligible to receive the vaccine:
* All persons over six months of age with chronic health conditions.
* Healthy children and adolescents from six months to 18 years of age, inclusive.
* Pregnant women.
* Persons – including First Nations – living in remote and isolated settings or communities
* Health care workers in critical areas such as the ER, ICU, specialized units with direct patient care, and all health-care workers employed in acute and long term facilities and in home care and public health.
* First responders (police, firefighters).
* Household contacts under 65 years of age of infants less than six months of age, and of persons who are immune-compromised.
“People who fall into these groups and for whom the seasonal flu vaccine is normally recommended will be able to receive both shots at the same time, provided that the seasonal vaccine is available in their area,” the government said.
“This means that as of now, the only people not eligible for the pandemic H1N1 vaccine are healthy adults who are not health-care workers as defined above,” said the announcement from Victoria.
