Unvaccinated in B.C.? Your chance of dying is 53 times higher

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — If you are unvaccinated, your chances of surviving COVID-19 are only getting slimmer, according to shocking new data from the BC Centre of Disease Control.

The latest report shows unvaccinated people are 53 times more likely to die than those who have had both of their shots, adjusting for age.

The grim survival outlook has worsened significantly from the previous reporting week, when the outcome of death was 36 times more likely between Sept. 16 and the Sept. 23. due to the severity of the Delta variant.

Between Sept. 9 and Sept. 16, death was 19 times more likely.

The majority of the deaths are in those 60 and older, but the province has consistently seen deaths in people between 20 and 80 years old weekly.

All of the deaths between the ages of 20 and 60 are in people who are unvaccinated, according to the recent data.

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In the last week of September, 43 people died from complications of COVID-19 in the province. There were 283 new hospitalizations, and among them, four out of five patients were unvaccinated.

“Over the past week, fully vaccinated individuals represented 70% of BC’s total population, but accounted for only 29% of cases and 15% of hospitalizations,” the report reads.

Hospital and critical care cases are increasing in Northern Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, and Vancouver Island Health, but are decreasing in the Interior and Fraser Health regions.

Research shows cases in children in B.C. are growing and the case rate is highest in children between nine and 11 years old, who fall below the age threshold for immunizations.

However, hospitalization rates remain low in children, and there have been no pediatric deaths since last year.

The number of sick kids is also related to the immunization rates in the community.

The Interior and Northern Health regions, which have both struggled with their immunization rates, have shown a surge of cases in children since the summer.

The highest daily rate of new cases is in the Northern Health community of Nechako, followed by the Upper Skeena. The Interior’s Kettle Valley takes the third spot.

Outside of those regions, Chilliwack has the highest average daily rate of new cases per health area between Sept. 22 and Sept. 28.

In the last seven days, 38 people tested positive, higher than the week before, despite new restrictions being placed on the east Fraser Valley area.

As of Monday, 79 per cent of eligible people are vaccinated in Chilliwack, but only 73 per cent are vaccinated in the 18 to 49 age group. That same age group in the city of Surrey is 94 per cent vaccinated.