The B.C. government announced 743 new cases of COVID-19 and seven coronavirus-related deaths Friday, as the province marked a new vaccination milestone.
Four out of five eligible British Columbians – or 3,709,554 people, age 12 and up – have now received both doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health. Another 344,184 people have had their first shot.
The unvaccinated population continues to make up the majority of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, despite representing less than 22 per cent of the province, including young children.
Between Sept. 16 and 22, the unvaccinated caught COVID-19 at a rate of 292.8 per 100,000 people, compared to 90.8 per 100,000 among the partially vaccinated and just 28.3 per 100,000 among the fully vaccinated.
During the same time period, the unvaccinated were hospitalized at a rate of 46.6 per 100,000 after catching COVID-19, compared to 14.1 per 100,000 among the partially vaccinated and 1.8 per 100,000 among the fully vaccinated.
"After factoring for age, people not vaccinated are 25.9 times more likely to be hospitalized than those fully vaccinated," the Ministry of Health said in a news release.