ArticleBMJ open respiratory research2023
Comparison of influenza and COVID-19 hospitalisations in British Columbia, Canada: a population-based study.
Article in BMJ open respiratory research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Differences in clinical characteristics between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza: a systematic review and meta-analysis.NPJ primary care respiratory medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Short and long-term outcomes of children and adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19 or influenza: results of the AUTCOV study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Burden of Illness Associated With Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Influenza, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Infants and Young Children in Ontario, Canada, 2018-2023: A Population-Based Canadian Immunization Research Network Study.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Comparison of COVID-19 and Influenza-Related Outcomes in the United States during Fall-Winter 2022-2023: A Cross-Sectional Retrospective Study.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Cohort profile: the British Columbia COVID-19 Cohort (BCC19C)-a dynamic, linked population-based cohort.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Risk of hospital admission and death from first-ever SARS-CoV-2 infection by age group during the Delta and Omicron periods in British Columbia, Canada.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023Article
- Changes in emergency department use in British Columbia, Canada, during the first 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2023Article
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7 authors.
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Abstract
introductionWe compared the population rate of COVID-19 and influenza hospitalisations by age, COVID-19 vaccine status and pandemic phase, which was lacking in other studies.
methodWe conducted a population-based study using hospital data from the province of British Columbia (population 5.3 million) in Canada with universal healthcare coverage. We created two cohorts of COVID-19 hospitalisations based on date of admission: annual cohort (March 2020 to February 2021) and peak cohort (Omicron era; first 10 weeks of 2022). For comparison, we created influenza annual and peak cohorts using three historical periods years to capture varying severity and circulating strains: 2009/2010, 2015/2016 and 2016/2017. We estimated hospitalisation rates per 100 000 population.
resultsCOVID-19 and influenza hospitalisation rates by age group were 'J' shaped. The population rate of COVID-19 hospital admissions in the annual cohort (mostly unvaccinated; public health restrictions in place) was significantly higher than influenza among individuals aged 30-69 years, and comparable to the severe influenza year (2016/2017) among 70+. In the peak COVID-19 cohort (mostly vaccinated; few restrictions in place), the hospitalisation rate was comparable with influenza 2016/2017 in all age groups, although rates among the unvaccinated population were still higher than influenza among 18+. Among people aged 5-17 years, COVID-19 hospitalisation rates were lower than/comparable to influenza years in both cohorts. The COVID-19 hospitalisation rate among 0-4 years old, during Omicron, was higher than influenza 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 and lower than 2009/2010 pandemic.
conclusionsDuring first Omicron wave, COVID-19 hospitalisation rates were significantly higher than historical influenza hospitalisation rates for unvaccinated adults but were comparable to influenza for vaccinated adults. For children, in the context of high infection levels, hospitalisation rates for COVID-19 were lower than 2009/2010 H1N1 influenza and comparable (higher for 0-4) to non-pandemic years, regardless of the vaccine status.
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