Health Minister Jason Copping said the BA4 and BA5 variants were circulating in the province at “very low levels”. Sewage sampling shows that the number of COVIDs in both major Alberta cities has been increasing since mid-June. “We’re watching it closely,” Copping said Monday. “We know other provinces, Ontario and BC are seeing an increase.” Copping said the province is reviewing recent guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which it said is important for older adults and those at increased risk of severe COVID-19, regardless of how many boosters they’ve already received. NACI also noted that while vaccine protection against symptomatic disease wanes over time, protection against severe disease is better maintained. While acknowledging the growing trends of COVID-19, the province is not making moves to slow this circulation, instead encouraging Albertans to receive every vaccine dose for which they are eligible. “We know that previous vaccines are very effective against severe outcomes and the same with previous infection for BA4 and BA5,” Copping said. “The evidence is clear on this. “I understand that work is continuing on updating the vaccines, possibly for the fall,” he added. “This is under evaluation.” Some of the main pandemic indicators are higher now than they were around last year when the Delta variant spread, including nearly three times the number of new cases per day. In addition, there are about 400 other Albertans in the hospital with COVID this summer. New laboratory-confirmed cases rose on June 29 for the first time after nine weeks of decline. Serious outcomes, such as ICU stays and deaths from COVID, remain relatively flat from last year. “We can’t stop it,” said Dr. Sumon Chakrabarty, an infectious disease specialist. “That’s what a respiratory virus does. “We know right now for people at higher risk what to do, like wearing a high-quality mask to stay safe.” Last summer, Premier Jason Kenney’s “Best Summer Ever” led to a spike in cases that pushed the health care system to the brink of instituting triage protocols later in the fall. This time, experts say that is less likely as most vaccinated people develop mild symptoms from BA4 and BA5. However, about 10 million eligible Canadians still haven’t received their third installment. “This is the best protection against a wave of falls that can lead to an increase in hospitalizations,” said Dr. Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist. With files from The Canadian Press
