B.C. health minister acknowledges children's flu deaths after leak, doesn't explain secrecy
CTV
B.C.’s health minister did not disclose an exceptionally high number of influenza deaths among children until pressed by reporters Wednesday, a day after CTV News reported six such tragedies have been recorded in recent weeks.
B.C.’s health minister did not disclose an exceptionally high number of influenza deaths among children until pressed by reporters Wednesday, a day after CTV News reported six such tragedies have been recorded in recent weeks.
Adrian Dix confirmed the numbers and said he believed some of the deceased were teenagers. Sources previously told CTV News there were toddlers who died as well.
Dix did not explain why the public had to find out about the deaths through information leaked from a physicians’ meeting on Monday.
“We don't talk about particular cases but this (is) absolutely devastating for everyone in the health-care system, but obviously and most importantly for the families involved,” he told reporters after being re-sworn as minister. “It shows the risks of the flu.”
That comment is particularly noteworthy since Dix and two of the top health officials in the province held a press conference on Monday to urge parents to vaccinate their children against the flu, but did not mention anything about fatalities.
Typically, there are only five or six child deaths from influenza recorded annually across the entire country, according to the Impact Surveillance Network run by the Canadian Pediatric Society.
CTV News has been asking the B.C. Centre for Disease Control for statistics on how many British Columbians have died from respiratory illness since September, broken down by age.
