The Medical Health Officer for Kamloops says COVID-19 vaccines are a big reason why a second outbreak of the virus at Royal Inland Hospital hasn’t grown significantly.

The outbreak was declared two weeks ago on June 30, and Dr. Carol Fenton says there are still ten cases – all patients – linked to surgical unit 6 South.

“The vast majority of case are asymptomatic and we found them through screening, so it really is a testament both to the effectiveness of the vaccine and the knowledge and practices of the staff who went through that experience in February,” Fenton told NL News. “Together, it is very effective.”

“I can’t give you the exact breakdown of who was vaccinated and who was not, but the fact that they are less severe and people don’t get as sick, they’re more likely to be asymptomatic also helps to control the spread. So, even though the vaccine is not 100 per cent, its still our best tool in the tool kit.”

In a statement, Interior Health says there have been no new cases detected linked to this outbreak for a week, with the last case reported on July 8. It is not clear how many of those cases are active.

“It absolutely is a testament to the effectiveness of vaccines to make the infections less severe and more asymptomatic, but also to all of the staff in RIH who learned from the outbreak in February so all of the infection control practices at RIH are top notch,” Fenton added.

As for what caused this second outbreak, that investigation is still underway, with Fenton noting it takes time.

“We don’t know yet how this outbreak came to be but I’m very happy to see its under control and we’re hoping to declare it over very soon,” she said.

The first COVID-19 outbreak at Royal Inland Hospital was declared on January 22. It lasted for a month before RIH was declared COVID free on February 22 but not before 105 cases – 69 staff and 36 patients – were reported along with four deaths.