Despite loosening health restrictions and a higher vaccination rate, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over.
On June 8th, Canada’s chief public officer Dr. Theresa Tam told Members of Parliament (MP) that it is still ongoing, adding that there is a real threat of a seventh wave.
Dr. Janet DeMille of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit (TBDHU) told Acadia News Monday that because we’re dealing with the Omicron variant, it’s hard to predict when it will hit.
“Back in January it was the BA. 1 subvariant, and then in May it was the BA. 2 subvariant,” added DeMille. “Omicron is different, which means (the wave) may hit in July in August, or it could be delayed until September or October, which would be nice to see. (Our district) has a decent level of immunity, whether it’s through the vaccine or through people having had infections, all of that is going to contribute to overall protection.”
A majority of the cases reported to the TBDHU, according to DeMille, are the BA.2 variant of COVID-19.
DeMille stressed the virus isn’t gone.
“What we see in other parts of the world, including some parts of the United States, and even there’s a little bit of an uptick in Ontario in the wastewater surveillance. It could be indicating that Omicron is still spreading, and we do anticipate further waves, I’m just hoping that the next wave won’t get to us until the fall.”
Tam told the Commons health committee that two doses of the vaccine are only 20 per cent effective against Omicron, while getting three doses raises the effectiveness to 60 per cent.
As of June 14th, 80,608 individuals in the TBDHU have received three doses of a vaccine while nearly 18,000 have four doses.
The protection measures are the same:
- Stay home if you are sick
- Using rapid antigen tests
- Masking when indoors
- Improving ventilation and using higher grade filters
Five of the 29 patients at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) admitted for COVID-19 require Intensive Care.
Acadia News will have more with Dr. DeMille about a return to school in September later this week
