oneVCH COVID-19 Bulletin

June 3, 2021

Appreciation rocks!

Students at James Whiteside Elementary painted these beautiful and thoughtful rocks of appreciation for the staff at Richmond Hospital. The rocks are a heartfelt thanks to all the amazing staff at Richmond Hospital, and have been placed near the parkade's main entrance and the back entrance to add a little colour.

COVID-19 VACCINATION PROGRAM NACI releases new statement on interchangeability of vaccines

On Tuesday, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) released its statement on the Interchangeability of Authorized COVID-19 Vaccines. It includes recommendations for a series when the first dose is:

mRNA COVID-19 vaccine: NACI recommends that, if readily available, the same mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product should be offered for the subsequent dose in a vaccine series started with an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. However, when the same mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product is not readily available, or is unknown, another mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product recommended for use in that age group can be considered interchangeable and should be offered to complete the vaccine series. The previous dose should be counted, and the series need not be restarted. (Strong NACI Recommendation)

AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine: NACI recommends that either AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine or an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine product may be offered for the subsequent dose in a vaccine series started with an AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD COVID-19 vaccine. The previous dose should be counted, and the series need not be restarted. The recommendation to offer mRNA as the second dose is based on expert opinion and on the following elements: · The risk of VITT after the first and second doses of the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine · The possibility of increased short-term reactogenicity with a mixed schedule · Emerging data on immunogenicity of a mixed schedule of the AstraZeneca followed by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (Discretionary NACI Recommendation)

First-dose AstraZeneca recipients get a choice for their second dose

Following the release of the recommendations, today Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that people who got the AstraZeneca/COVIDSHIELD vaccine will have a choice for their second dose – get AstraZeneca again, or an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna). Those who received the AstraZeneca vaccine at their local pharmacy will be contacted by the same pharmacy about booking a second dose of it. Those who received AstraZeneca through their employer or at a VCH clinic will be contacted the same way for a second dose. If they prefer to get an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) for a second dose they can book an appointment through a provincial clinic using the Get Vaccinated booking system. Reminder: everyone must be registered in the provincial Get Vaccinated system to be notified when it’s time to book for Dose 2.

All eligible people in B.C. will be offered a second dose by the end of summer

Dr. Henry also said today that there is enough vaccine supply coming to British Columbia that everyone who is eligible will be offered a second dose by the end of summer, and likely even sooner than that.

Question of the day

Q: I got AstraZeneca for my first shot. Can I expect a call from a pharmacy or a notification from the provincial Get Vaccinated system?

A: You will receive both: a call from the pharmacy where you received your first dose of the AstraZeneca/ COVISHIELD vaccine, and a notification from the provincial Get Vaccinated system (provided you registered yourself in it after receiving your first dose at a pharmacy). It’s up to you to decide which option you wish to take.

Questions? Check out our COVID-19 vaccine page for FAQs →

MEDICAL STAFF (PHYSICIANS, NURSE PRACTITIONERS, MIDWIVES AND DENTISTS) Q&A: Point-of-care assessments

Q: Should I use an N95 respirator when treating a patient with suspected or confirmed COVID-19?

A: This is a good time to talk about the recently released point-of-care risk assessments. There are some situations where you should wear an N95 such as when you are performing an aerosol generating medical procedure (AGMP) on a patient where COVID has been confirmed or strongly suspected. However, in a scenario where you have a patient coming in for another reason and they’ve received a COVID test that is negative, then absolutely not. It doesn’t provide any additional protection.

Transmission risk is on a gradient spectrum. In those scenarios where you have a COVID-positive patient and they’re receiving a procedure that isn’t quite on the AGMP list, but there are some similarities, that’s the point where you do your point-of-care risk assessment. If you do your risk assessment and feel you should put on your N95, then that’s your answer.

In light of our vaccination campaign and its continual success, we want to remind staff to continue to follow personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines in order to minimize the risk of staff or patients getting COVID-19, especially with the threat of the circulating variants.

Medical staff Q&A were generated during the May 2021 Medical Staff Forum. Answer provided by Dr. Titus Wong.

Click here for the YouTube recording of the May 19 Medical Staff Forum. The a/v recording, full transcripts and updated list of Q&A’s (Q&A Living Document) can be found on the Intranet site.

INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL Reminders to stay vigilant about infection control and PPE

As COVID-19 continues to be active in the community, we would like to remind staff and medical staff to continue to be vigilant and have a low threshold for testing patients and yourselves. Please continue to follow your area’s COVID-19 safety plan, practice exceptional hand hygiene, adhere to Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) and personal protective equipment (PPE) guidelines and maintain physical distance, even after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Please also take a moment to review all of the measures listed below.

STAY HOME IF YOU ARE UNWELL

Perform your daily COVID-19 self-screening health check before coming to work. If you are symptomatic, please go to a COVID-19 testing site to get tested and follow the advice of testing site staff until your results become available. If you come to work, you are indicating that you have completed the daily self- screening health check and are not exhibiting any symptoms

HAND HYGIENE

Excellent hand hygiene is important for protecting yourself against COVID-19 and other pathogens. Hand hygiene should be performed: when entering and exiting medical facility, unit, ward, or clinic; before and after patient contact or contact with patient environment; before and after contact with a health-care provider or their work environment, and before donning and during/after doffing PPE.

PPE REMINDERS

Ensure appropriate and consistent PPE usage: Please review the documents on the IPAC website (http://ipac.vch.ca) and ensure you are using PPE consistently and appropriately. Please also keep each other accountable to ensure we are all adhering to best practice. PPE is required for immunized individuals as it may be possible to transmit the COVID-19 virus even after vaccination.

SHARED SPACES

Mask in all shared spaces: In our health-care facilities, it is mandatory for everyone to wear a medical mask, unless they have a medical exemption. This includes in common areas and break rooms, unless you are eating and/or drinking. Practice physical distancing: Staff are reminded to stagger breaks, keep a two-metre distance from others (including your colleagues) in break rooms and other common spaces, and adhere to break room capacity limits. Clean high-touch surfaces frequently: Have wipes and hand sanitizer at workstations. Remember to wipe down phones, laptops, door knobs, etc. frequently. Declutter, clean and disinfect surfaces in break rooms before and after use. Shared offices: It is important for staff who work in shared office spaces to maintain physical distance as much as possible and to ensure they are wearing appropriate PPE at all times when in shared spaces. Please ensure wipes and sanitizer are available and that all surfaces are sanitized and disinfected regularly. Keep laundry carts covered: Ensure laundry carts are closed with zippered covers.

FOOD & BREAK REMINDERS

Do not share any communal food items (e.g. boxes of doughnuts, bags of chips, etc.) at this time. No drinking or eating on unit: If you need food or hydration, go to your designated break area, clean your hands, doff your mask, refuel or rehydrate, clean your hands, don your mask and return to work. Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces in communal areas: Be sure to disinfect microwaves, countertops, tabletops, chairs and other high-touch surfaces in break rooms before and after use, and wash your hands before eating or drinking.

Thank you for doing your part to ensure the safety of your patients and colleagues. We truly are all in this together and it’s the efforts that each of us make that have a cumulative impact on ensuring we remain safe from COVID- 19. If you have any questions, please speak with your manager or supervisor.

PEOPLE WELLNESS Benefits of smiling

Smiling can be an easy and effective way to increase your positive wellbeing. Did you know that smiling not only boosts your mood (and the moods of people around you), it also improves your immune system and lowers your blood pressure? Take a moment in your day to smile, even if you are wearing a mask - it’s good for you! Check out these top 10 reasons to smile every day.

UPDATE ON NEW AND EXISTING COVID-19 CASES – JUNE 3, 2021

Today, we have had 199 new cases of COVID-19, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 144,866 cases in British Columbia. 2,563 active cases Vancouver Coastal Health: 68 new cases Fraser: 89 new cases Interior Health: 34 new cases Island Health: 2 new cases Northern Health: 6 new cases People who normally reside outside of Canada: 0 224 hospitalized 62 currently admitted to ICU 140,537 people who tested positive have recovered 2 new deaths for a total of 1,709 confirmed deaths 71.8% of all adults in B.C. and 68.9% of those 12 and older have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. In total, 3,426,827 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 229,585 of which are second doses.

Click here to see more updates on the BC COVID-19 Dashboard

COVID-19 DATA

More COVID-19 data, including for long-term care, assisted living and independent living sites, is available on the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) website, including outbreak and case information.

Visit the BCCDC site →

KEY LINKS

Text Alerts: Physician sign up keyword: COVID19

Text Alerts: Staff sign up keyword: ALERT

Staff supports during COVID-19

Medical staff resources during COVID-19

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

BC COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool Wellness Together Canada: Mental Health and Substance Use Support COVID-19 Multilingual Resources Coping with COVID: Additional Employee Wellness/EFAP services VCH Virtual Health website Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) website: Staff resources on how to assess, test and treat patients and protect patients and staff. Infection Prevention and Control Policy: Ministry of Health VCH Regional Pandemic Outbreak Response Plan: VCH Communicable Disease Control website VCH Intranet: COVID-19 updates

REGIONAL AND LOCAL EOC ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES

COVID-19 VCH-PHC Regional EOC COVID-19 Vancouver Acute EOC COVID-19 Vancouver Community EOC COVID-19 Coastal EOC COVID-19 Richmond EOC COVID-19 Providence Health Care (PHC) EOC

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

Please click here to submit questions or comments.

REMINDER ABOUT MEDIA

If you receive a media inquiry, please contact our Public Affairs team immediately for support. Our media line is 604-202-2012 or email [email protected].

The bulletins are distributed on Mondays and Thursdays. Past bulletins are available on the COVID-19 section of our VCH staff intranet.

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