news // no. 4

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COVID-19 variants discovered in BC

>» New strains considered highly transmissible

Jessica Berget Assistant Editor

ith reports of COVID-19 cases

decreasing it looked like this pandemic might be coming to an end. That is until new and “highly contagious” strains of the virus emerged from South Africa and the UK.

Last year, on December 27, it was reported that the first known case of the new COVID-19 variant from the UK was detected in BC. Since February 5, there have been 28 variant cases found in the province—1g cases to the UK variant B.1.1.7, and nine for the South African variant B.1.351. Bonnie Henry has expressed concerns about these variants as they could cause more COVID-19 cases because of the high transmission rate and unknown effect against vaccines. Henry also says most of the variant cases were acquired locally but were all in contact with people who recently travelled; sources for five cases however have been unidentified.

Henry attributes the new variant cases as a reason to increase case surveillance and testing and has also extended the province’s ban on social gatherings at least until the end of the month once again. Among these new testing and surveillance methods, Henry says they are targeting specific groups such as genome sequence testing for school children, testing all COVID-19 positive international travellers

for the variants, as well as random sampling of cases in places where outbreaks are observed.

The UK variant can be found by looking for specific virus mutations through whole genome sequencing. Genome sequencing means determining the order of the DNA’s nucleotides and is considered similar to decoding or like doing a giant puzzle (the human genome is made up of about three billion genetic letters). The province has done more than u,000 genome sequence tests and has said that the variant cases are considered to be contained.

Numbers on the new UK strain transmission rate has been reported to be up to 50 and 70 percent more than the normal COVID-19 strain. It remains unclear whether the new strain is more lethal or makes people sicker. Despite the reportedly high transmission rates, 81 students and eight staff at a Maple Ridge high school tested negative after making contact with someone with the variant

was at the school on February 3. The same day, Henry made masks mandatory in BC high and middle schools in places where interactions cannot be controlled. Masks continue to not be mandatory for elementary students but are for staff. According to health experts, it is

Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne

normal for all viruses to mutate as they

go through changes during outbreak. In a Global News article, Levon Abrahamyan, a virologist from the University of Montreal explains that more than 10,000 mutations of the novel coronavirus have been reported.

Sexual health centre begins research on male sex workers in Vancouver

» What support do sex workers have during this pandemic?

Jessica Berget Assistant Editor

T balance the inequality of research into men’s health and sex work (a field in which men are underrepresented), the Vancouver based Centre for Gender

and Sexual Health Equity (CGSHE) is conducting research on the health and safety of men who do sex work. They claim that research into both men’s health and safety as well as sex work is underrepresented, which is why they are doubling down and studying both in the

Vancouver area. The study will explore what issues men in sex work face and the impact of the current laws around sex work.

This is something Greg Oudman, Executive Director of Health Initiative for Men (HIM), is passionate about. He explains to the Georgia Straight in July 2019, “People assume that guys who are involved in sex work aren't vulnerable to the power imbalances that women who are involved in sex work are vulnerable to, and I don’t think that’s the case.”

A previous study from 2007 recognized the absence of support services and resources for male sex workers. This issue launched Hustle: Men on the Move at the PEERS Vancouver Resource Society—a support program in Vancouver dealing with male and

Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo

transgender sex workers (HIM adopted the program in 2012). The program helps find other work for people looking to get out of sex work and focuses on education about male sex work stigmas. In 2015, UBC dida study that found the biggest issue for male sex workers was not other clients, but from within and outside of gay communities.

The current pandemic has been a hardship for many sex workers who have lost their income and feel they have been left out of the COVID-19 support and response, and this is especially true for male sex workers as most sex work support programs focus on women. However, there have been many new developments in Vancouver to aid sex workers during this time. On February 2, CBC reported that a “bad date reporting system” is in works and will be available province-wide for sex workers to report violent clients or to see if any potential clients have “red flags.’

On September 30, CBC also reported that a 24/7 shelter for sex workers will be opening in the Downtown Eastside run by WISH Drop-in Centre Society, but is only available for women. There are currently no shelters in Vancouver for men, although the company WISH works with a West End organization to support them with a drop- in centre for men.