The Omicron subvariant BA.5, and to a lesser extent, BA.4, is largely behind the latest wave — the seventh of the pandemic and the third since Omicron’s arrival. Both have shown the ability to evade the protection afforded by previous infection. “The BA.5 subvariant has mutated to the point where your body doesn’t recognize it, and people get reinfected,” said Dr. Fahad Razak, a pathologist at St. Michael’s in Toronto and scientific director of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science. Advisory Panel. “So you’re seeing this additional wave starting in Ontario and now it’s started in other parts of Canada.” The good news is that data emerging from countries where BA.4 and BA.5 are already prevalent, such as South Africasuggest that they are no more severe than previous Omicron subvariants or more likely to result in hospitalization. However, the sheer number of people who are likely to get sick (especially those who are vulnerable to serious illness), combined with overcharged emergency rooms in many parts of the country, it is a cause for concern, Razak said. “Something that’s a little less severe but infects a lot of people means … that the total number of Canadians getting sick — very sick and possibly dying — may actually be higher,” he said. Razak pointed to a scientific analysis carried out for the toronto starwhich found that as of mid-2021, the Omicron was more deadly for Ontarians aged 60 and older than the previous two waves combined, due to the high volume of infections. Razak is now among a chorus of experts and public health officials urging the Canadian public to take a booster to protect against more serious illnesses. “This third tranche is incredibly valuable,” he said. “It gives you protection against serious illness and will give you at least a few weeks, maybe even a few months, of protection even against infection. “So if you haven’t gotten that third dose, there’s no better time than now.”
Keeping your vaccination ‘up to date’
Canada had one of the highest vaccination rates in the world after two doses, but uptake in subsequent doses was slower. Across Canada, more than 40 percent of eligible Canadians have not yet received a third installment.
Razak says the messaging about what constitutes “full vaccination” needs to change, given the evolution of the virus and the waning immunity of vaccines over time.
“Probably the best way to describe it is keeping your vaccines up to date, rather than being fully vaccinated, against a rapidly mutating virus.”
WATCHES | Dr. Zain Chagla answers your questions about vaccines:
COVID-19: How protective are 3 doses of vaccine at this point?
Infectious disease expert Dr. Zane Chagla answers questions about how much protection three doses of a vaccine offer for COVID-19 several months in advance, and the status of fourth vaccine doses. Sarah Otto, an expert in modeling and evolutionary biology at the University of British Columbia, has been tracking changes in the coronavirus and says it has changed quickly. BA.4 and BA.5 are likely to soon become the dominant strains across the country, he said. These subvariants tend to infect the upper airways, he said, and “not as deep into our lungs.” “That said, there’s still a significant mortality rate, especially if you’ve had no immunity at all,” Otto said. It also recommends that those eligible for a third dose should receive one as soon as possible, and the elderly or those more vulnerable to serious illness should receive a fourth. “Why play Russian roulette with your health and the health of your loved ones? Get a booster if you can,” he said. “This will protect yourself and protect those around you.”
There are no restrictions
This week, officials in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia acknowledged that their provinces had entered another wave of COVID-19. In Quebecthe number of COVID patients in the province’s hospitals rose from 1,007 to just under 1,500 in the last month — an increase of more than 50 percent. Hospitalizations are also increasing week by week in British Columbia, as well in Ontariowhere approximately 60 percent of confirmed cases of COVID-19 are a result of BA.5. Neither province said public health restrictions would be imposed, at least not during the summer. “We are no longer at the point of imposing things when people are well aware of the risks. It’s just a matter of reminding them,” Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé said Thursday. Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé, right, says that while COVID-19 cases are rising again in the province, he does not foresee the reintroduction of public health restrictions. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press) For now, it’s up to the public to make informed choices, more than two years into the pandemic, said Catherine Hankins, co-chair of Canada’s Immunity Task Force on COVID-19 and a professor of epidemiology at McGill University, in an interview with CBC Montreal’s . Radio noon. “We’re in a different scenario, with a highly contagious virus and no mandate really,” he said. “We are at a difficult juncture.” For his part, Razak urged people to wear masks if congregating in large groups and to meet outside when possible. If cases rise again in the fall, he said, the threshold for reintroducing the mask mandate should be low. “It’s about using things like masks to prevent the more aggressive steps of restrictions or closures that were taken earlier in the pandemic,” he said. And despite another spike in cases, Razak said there are reasons to be optimistic. “We have a high percentage of immunity in our population now, which helps protect against serious diseases,” he said. “We have vaccines that continue to be remarkable even though all these mutations are happening. [They] we continue to be very protective against serious disease if we use them.”
