Twenty-three deaths have been linked to the swine flu outbreak in B.C. (CBC)

A young child is among eight people who have died in B.C. in the last week after catching swine flu, but health officials say it appears H1N1 will probably take fewer lives than the average seasonal flu virus.

Dr. Perry Kendall, the province's medical health officer, said Tuesday an eight-year-old is among the dead but he couldn't release any information about the child's pre-existing condition or about any of the others.

The total number of people who have died in the province since the virus surfaced last April now stands at 23. All but one of the deceased — a 26-year-old woman — had underlying medical conditions, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Kendall said the death toll is not unexpected, and it's much less than the number of deaths annually from the seasonal flu virus.

"We've been expecting and preparing for these additional cases and this number of deaths," he said.

Between 200 and 800 people die in B.C. every year from seasonal flu, but the difference is that younger people are dying of the H1N1 virus, Kendall said.

"It appears that the number of people who die from H1N1 will be significantly less than what we would see even in a mild seasonal influenza year."

However, Kendall said he encourages people to get vaccinated because the H1N1 virus will be around for several years, even after a possible third wave.

"So it's up to us, really, if we want to see a third wave and more cases or whether we want to get ourselves protected."

Peak of 2nd wave still to come

The province has not yet reached the peak of the second wave of the H1N1 flu, Kendall said, adding that 20 per cent of British Columbians have been immunized so far.

So far, 601 people have been treated in hospital since last spring, he said. Most of the lab-confirmed cases have been mild or moderate.

The eight most recent deaths included:

• Three in the region handled by Vancouver Coastal Health.
• Three on Vancouver Island.
• Two in the Fraser Health area.

The majority of laboratory-confirmed cases in B.C. have been mild or moderate in severity, with the patients either recovering or already recovered, officials said.

But since Nov. 3, there has been a significant increase in severe cases, to 202 in the past week compared with 162 in the previous week. The latest week's total included:

• 96 in the Fraser Health region.
• 47 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
• 44 in the Interior Health region.
• 11 in the Northern Health region.
• Four in the Vancouver Island Health region.

Meanwhile, supplies of the flu vaccine in B.C. are dwindling, and Kendall said some clinics may be closing this week.

He said the province is expecting about 250,000 more doses Thursday, but they won't be packaged and sent to clinics until early next week.

Pregnant women and children between six months and five years are among the current priority groups to get the shot, but some doctors' offices have informed parents that they've run out of the vaccine for young kids.

He said authorities may decide by the end of next week whether the H1N1 shot will be offered to more people, starting with first-responders such as firefighters and police.