The province's Facilitated Access to Specialized Treatment program is intended to streamline the referral process for physicians and help patients see a specialist sooner.
Adrian Dix says the drug sold under the brand name Ozempic will become available to more patients in B.C. with Type 2 diabetes, although the expansion falls short of regular benefit coverage.
On Saturday, LockBit, a ransomware group the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has called one of the world's most active and destructive, issued a brief apology and offered SickKids a free decryptor to unlock its data.
Health Canada hasn't yet approved the distribution of the drug to community pharmacies, which some say would make a bigger difference in easing supply strain.
Dr. Norman Keith Lea, a family physician in Nakusp, B.C.—population 1,700—should have practised a greater degree of caution, said the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia.
As the only Canadian province without an allergist, Islanders like Montague's Meike Noonan was told to wait until she experienced severe allergic reactions before she can see a specialist.
As of Wednesday, the agency was aware of 21 cases of XBB.1.5 in Canada and said it is “currently considered to be only detected sporadically,'' it said in an email.
