Henry hopeful B.C. won't have to resort to COVID-19 health orders again

British Columbia's provincial health officer says she is hopeful the province won't have to resort to public health orders around masking and social distancing again as officials wind down their public communications around the COVID-19 response.

Speaking to reporters in Victoria on Tuesday, Dr. Bonnie Henry said the "best case scenario" would see COVID-19 "become more like a common cold virus" that is seasonally managed "on a periodic basis for the foreseeable future."

But Henry stressed the virus is "not there right now" and may take a year before health officials fully understand its trajectory.

"For the next few months, we have a sense of where we are," Henry said after announcing the Health Ministry would provide a second round of COVID-19 booster shots and lift its vaccine card requirements.

The province is also ending its daily COVID-19 updates to the public and will instead provide weekly updates on new infections and deaths going forward.

"We have a high level of immunity, we have lots of antibodies, we're giving boosts to immunity for those who need it most," Henry said. "But I'm also planning for 'What are the possible scenarios come the fall and what surveillance measures do we need to have in place?'"

The provincial health officer said imposing public health orders, such as mandating face masks, limits on the size of social gatherings and physical distancing, are "a last resort from a public health framework."

"I think we'll be in a better place to understand that in a year," Henry said.

"I think the worst case scenario would be if a whole new variant arose that was a coronavirus that was able to evade vaccine protection and was causing more severe illness than Delta, for instance," she added.

"Then we would have to look at taking some of these more drastic measures that keep people apart and slow down that transmission until we have a new vaccine or effective treatment. But that's like a whole new pandemic starting."

Given current infection modelling, it's possible that an annual COVID-19 booster shot will be recommended in B.C., though maybe only for those most vulnerable to serious illness, she said.