A B.C. doctor specializing in the treatment of children says families have many options to help protect themselves from respiratory diseases as the school year begins.
“With the pandemic, we've got more used to masking, and that now certainly is an option for people to have another layer of protection and should be a choice that would be respected if somebody would want to do that, including at school,” said the doctor.What do I need to know about BA.2.86? The BA.2.86 variant of the Omicron strain was identified this week in a person from the Fraser Health region who hadn't recently been outside the province.
The World Health Organization says it's monitoring the variant due to its large number of mutations. It was first detected in Denmark on July 24, and has since turned up in Israel, South Africa, Britain and the U.S. What about vaccines? COVID-19 boosters are currently available in B.C. for anyone over six months. Goldfarb recommends adults who don’t have any pre-existing conditions or a comprised immune system wait for a new COVID-19 booster that will target the prevailing strains and is due out later this fall.
He pointed to the BC Children’s Hospital's Back-to-School Wellness Toolkit, which offers tips and resources to guide families toward good emotional, mental and physical health.