BC Shares Spring COVID, Flu and Measles Update

Around 40 people were in hospitals across B.C. with COVID as of Friday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said during a press conference.

For COVID, “really that’s the lowest it’s been in many years, since the summer of 2020,” she said.

But COVID is an illness that tends to surge in the spring and summer, she said.

British Columbians wanting to protect themselves from COVID-19 will be able to get a spring vaccine starting April 8.

This is the same vaccine that was offered during the fall and winter vaccination campaigns but could boost the immunity of anyone who hasn’t had a COVID vaccine or infection in the last three months, said Andy Watson, communications director for the Public Health Officer.

The province is offering an mRNA vaccine that protects against the KP.2 COVID-19 subvarient. During the fall and winter campaign, 1.1 million British Columbians got vaccinated against COVID and 1.3 million got vaccinated against the flu. B.C. has a population of 5.7 million people.

B.C. has been experiencing its worst flu season since before the COVID-19 pandemic, Henry said. She added that RSV peaked in February but has been steadily decreasing since.

People at highest risk of serious illness are recommended by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization to get the spring COVID shot. This includes adults 65 and older, Indigenous adults 55 and older, anyone living in long-term care facilities and individuals six months and older who have been diagnosed as clinically extremely vulnerable.

B.C. will prioritize these high-risk individuals for vaccination, but the general public is welcome to book their shots as well, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health told The Tyee.

Notifications to book an appointment will start April 8 and shots will be available until June 30 at around 400 pharmacies and health-care centres across the province. Public health units will also have vaccines available for children under 12.

On Friday as Henry spoke about the spring vaccination campaign, she also declared cold and flu season over.

That means people are no longer required to wear masks in all health-care settings — but Henry said people are still encouraged to mask up.

Five cases of measles in BC

Henry also said as of Friday there are five cases of measles in B.C.

All five people seem to have caught the infection while travelling in Southeast Asia.

“Increasingly, we’re seeing cases of measles in parts of Canada, with outbreaks in Ontario and cases here in B.C., and around the world,” Henry said. “Measles can cause serious illness, particularly for young people who are not vaccinated. And we have tragically had one death in Canada last year.”

An unvaccinated child, who was younger than five years old, died in Hamilton in May 2024, the CBC reported.

Henry encouraged everyone to check their health records to make sure they have had their two measles vaccinations. Measles vaccines are free in B.C.

The Tyee previously reported that B.C.’s current measles vaccination rate is lower than in Gaines County, Texas, where a recent measles outbreak killed one adult and one six-year-old.

Parents of children who are now seven, eight and nine years old should double-check their kid’s vaccination records to make sure the pandemic didn’t disrupt their kid’s immunization schedule, Henry said.

Anyone born before 1970 is assumed to have immunity to measles from a previous infection. Anyone who got a single dose of the measles vaccine before 1996 is recommended to get a second dose to be fully protected.

“If you’re not sure or don’t have your records, getting an additional dose does not have any harms and it makes sure you are protected for the rest of your life,” Henry said.

One dose of the vaccine offers between 85 and 95 per cent protection, and two doses offer 97 to 100 per cent protection from getting sick if exposed, Dr. Jia Hu, interim medical director of the BC Centre for Disease Control’s immunization programs and vaccine-preventable diseases team, previously told The Tyee.

Because there are usually very low rates of measles infection in B.C., the government recommends all children get their first measles vaccine at one year old, and their second around the time they enter kindergarten.

Families with young children who are travelling to areas where there are measles outbreaks can get their child their first measles vaccine at six months old, and their second between one to four years old, the Health Ministry said.

This includes for travel to Ontario, where 572 cases have been reported since an outbreak was declared in October 2024, and Quebec, where 40 cases have been reported since an outbreak was declared in December 2024.

Henry said there have been 40 hospitalizations in Ontario due to measles infections. Most of the people hospitalized were children. She added there have also been outbreaks in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan.

“These have been linked to other large outbreaks in North America, particularly in Texas, in the U.S. and in Mexico,” she said.

If a child gets their first vaccine at six months, they will require two additional doses of the vaccine after they reach 12 months to be fully protected, the Health Ministry said.

Babies younger than six months “aren’t eligible” for the measles vaccine because their immune systems are not yet ready for this type of vaccine, Henry said.

An unvaccinated person can get sick after being exposed to a very small amount of the virus. It can take up to two weeks before they start showing symptoms. That person would be infectious before they start feeling sick, Henry said.

“That’s what’s so worrisome about this virus and why it’s so important that we take those measures now to protect ourselves from getting infected in the first place,” Henry said.