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One in five people on the North Shore say they’ve had COVID-19. And an additional one in 10 say they probably had it, but they don’t know for sure as no testing was available when they were sick.
That’s according to a recent North Shore News poll, which asked, “Have you had COVID-19?"
About 70 per cent of local residents who answered the poll said they have not contracted the virus.
The North Shore News polled 1,465 readers in an online poll between May 18 and May 27. Of those, 633 responses were from the local community.
The percentage of North and West Vancouver residents who say they've likely had the virus is actually lower than the percentage of people provincewide who health officials say have had COVID.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, the province's health officer, said in April that about half of all British Columbians have been infected by the COVID-19 virus. That information came from a study done by the BC Centre for Disease Control that examined blood samples from Life Labs for antibodies to the virus.
But some of those who had the virus may not have even known they were infected, Henry said last month.
Official case counts down
In terms of official case counts (which measure only a small subset of those infected who are considered most vulnerable) the number of new infections was slightly down this week on the North Shore.
There were 75 “official” cases recorded between May 15 and May 21, down from 89 cases the week before, according to B.C.’s Centre for Disease Control. Of those, 55 cases were in North Vancouver and 20 were in West Vancouver.
PCR testing which results in those official case counts is done for only a small number of people. But it is considered an indicator of more general trends.
The BA.2 and BA2-12 variant of Omicron currently make up most cases of the virus in Vancouver Coastal Health, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, although other Omicron variants including BA2.3 are also present.
Hospitalizations stable in VCH
Hospitalizations in Vancouver Coastal Health – which also includes hospitals in Vancouver, Richmond, the Sunshine Coast and Sea-to-Sky Corridor – remain steady this week with 109 people in hospital as of May 26. That’s similar to the 107 people in hospital with COVID the week before. Ten of those people were in critical care – a similar number to the previous week. There were also 13 new COVID-19-related deaths in the past week in VCH. The majority of deaths continue to be in people over 80, according to the BCCDC, although there have also been a smaller number of COVID-19 deaths among those between 60 and 79.
Wastewater samples steady
The most recent reporting of wastewater data showing COVID-19 concentrations at the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant shows levels of the virus are relatively steady.
The most recent samples included concentrations of 55,175 viral parts per litre on May 23 and 50,731 parts per litre on May 21. That compares to 50,739 parts per litre on May 16, and 37,034 parts per litre on May 18.
Although wastewater concentrations don't measure the number of people infected with COVID-19 directly, they are considered one of the more accurate barometers of overall infection levels in communities, as they pick up viral signals from people who have tested positive on rapid tests at home but who are not part of official case counts.
At the peak of the Omicron wave at the beginning of the year, viral concentrations measured 333,000 parts per litre at the Lions Gate sewage treatment plant.
Vaccine rates stalled
Vaccination rates among both adults and children on the North Shore haven’t budged for months.
Between 92 and 96 per cent of adults on the North Shore have had two doses of vaccine, and between 67 and 71 per cent have received a booster shot – higher than the provincial average.
Between 57 and 67 per cent of children five to 11 on the North Shore have also received two doses of COVID vaccine.
The ICBC site vaccine clinic remains open for children aged five to 11, while adults are now being directed to local pharmacies for their shots.
In April, seniors in long-term care and those deemed clinically vulnerable were offered a fourth dose of vaccine.
The full results of the North Shore News poll are as follows:
Results are based on an online study of adult North Shore News readers who are located in North Shore. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 2.55%, 19 times out of 20.
North Shore News uses a variety of techniques to capture data, detect and prevent fraudulent votes, detect and prevent robots, and filter out non-local and duplicate votes.
