Dr. Don Vinh, an infectious disease specialist at McGill University Health Center (MUHC), says there are several ways Canadian travelers can minimize the risk of catching the subvariable and becoming seriously ill.
Read more: Omicron BA.5 COVID sub-variant spreading at ‘very intense level’, WHO warns
He said travelers should be familiar with the health system in the country they are visiting and obtain health insurance to cover medical expenses if they are to be hospitalized with COVID-19. “If you become infected with BA.5 and become ill in another country, how comfortable would you be to seek medical help or be hospitalized?” Vin said. Story continues below ad 6:16 How the BA.5 subvariant is fueling a new surge in Canada How the BA.5 subvariant is fueling a new surge in Canada Another way to protect against Omicron and its subvariants, according to Vinh, is to get vaccinated with at least three doses. “The last dose must be taken within the last three months to protect you from serious illness,” Vinh said. In Canada, a fourth dose of COVID-19 is already on offer as the seventh wave takes shape in many parts of the country. READ MORE: Ontario extends 4th doses of COVID vaccine to 18- to 59-year-olds amid 7th wave Starting July 14 in Ontario, anyone age 18 or older who had their first booster at least five months ago can make an appointment to get their fourth shot. Story continues below ad Other provinces and territories, including Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nunavut and the Yukon, have also opened up eligibility for second booster doses — or fourth dose — to anyone over 18, provided the last shot was at least three months before. Vinh also recommended that Canadians continue to wear masks while traveling, especially in crowded areas.
Read more: 7th wave of COVID in Ontario expected to peak in 2 weeks, no mask mandate now
“You can get BA.5 here locally. You don’t have to travel around the world to get it, but you don’t have to get it and get sick unnecessarily, so there are measures to prevent it,” Vinh said. 2:04 White House to prioritize boosters, tests for Omicron BA.5 sub-variant White House to prioritize boosters, tests for Omicron BA.5 sub-variant Dr. Earl Rubin, director of infectious diseases at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, shared similar recommendations, but added that if a traveler returns to Canada and has symptoms, they should not be out and spreading the virus in the community. Trending Stories
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Story continues below ad “If there is an absolute, essential need to go out, make sure you wear a mask and keep two meters apart,” Rubin said. “Avoid contact with vulnerable people.” “I think this is very important because public health is not monitoring people (with COVID) like they did before, not imposing (orders). So we have to rely on people’s sense of right and wrong,” he added. READ MORE: New Covid-19 Omicron mutation causes concern in India and beyond The federal government announced plans Thursday to restore random testing of travelers at Canada’s four main airports for COVID-19 next week, but plans to move the actual swab off-site. Rubin said he believes random testing is now being done to detect any new variants that might enter the country. “I think travel is an important issue if there’s a variation in destination to where you’re going that we don’t have here,” he said. For Vinh, this new testing strategy is just a “symbolic gesture to remind people that the pandemic is not over.” “I think if maybe the federal government has policies that remind us that the pandemic is not over, then from a federal perspective, it’s trying to protect or at least symbolically protect Canadians,” he said. Story continues below ad 1:50Covid-19: Canada to continue mandatory random testing at airports COVID-19: Canada to continue mandatory random testing at airports On July 12, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that cases of COVID-19 are increasing worldwide as BA.5 spreads at a “very intense level”. The spread of BA.5, which is now the dominant version of the virus worldwide, is a concern because it has a developmental advantage over other Omicron subtypes, said WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove at Tuesday’s briefing. . “The virus is spreading very rapidly globally and our ability to detect cases has decreased since surveillance strategies have changed,” he told reporters. WHO has seen a significant increase in BA.5 case reports in the past four weeks alone, Van Kerkhove said, adding that the trend is expected to continue around the world. READ MORE: 17 million Canadians took Omicron in 5 months, new federal report says Public Health Canada expects more cases in the coming months due to increases in Omicron’s BA.4 and BA.5 subclasses, according to its June 30 statement. Story continues below ad Some sobering data from Canada’s Immunity Task Force on COVID-19 released last week showed how quickly the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and its sub-variants spread across the country in late 2021 and the first months of this year . An analysis of data from blood tests showed that 17 million Canadians were infected in just five months, between December 2021 and May 2022. – with files from Saba Aziz of Global News and The Canadian Press © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
