Recommended new COVID-19 booster to foil possible future wave welcomed


‘What’s happening in other countries precedes us by about six to eight weeks and in places like Portugal, hospitals are starting to fill up — we’ll see the same thing here’

Article content

A COVID-19 booster shot recommended for Canadians this fall by the country’s immunization experts is being hailed by some Alberta physicians.

Advertisement 2

Article content

But there’s concern over how that will be received by Albertans, whose uptake of third doses has been poor — even as another wave of the disease driven by Omicron variants looms.

“Thirty-eight per cent of all Albertans have gotten their third shot, that’s not very good,” said Edmonton critical care physician Dr. Noel Gibney.

“What’s happening in other countries precedes us by about six to eight weeks and in places like Portugal, hospitals are starting to fill up — we’ll see the same thing here.”

Alberta’s rate of residents receiving at least one dose, at 80.34 per cent, is the lowest among provinces in a country where the average uptake level is 85 per cent, according to federal government statistics.

On Wednesday, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended provinces should plan to offer booster shots in the fall for people who are at increased risk, regardless of the number of booster doses they’ve already received.

Advertisement 3

Article content

It says this should include people 65 years of age and older, residents of long-term care or living facilities, and individuals 12 years of age and older with an underlying medical condition that places them at high risk of severe COVID-19.

The recommendation also includes adults in Indigenous, racialized and marginalized communities where infection can have disproportionate consequences, as well as quarters for migrant workers, shelters, correctional facilities and group homes.

NACI also recommends that boosters be offered to all other individuals from 12 to 64 years of age regardless of the number of booster doses they have previously received.

“Cases of COVID-19, including associated hospitalizations and deaths, are currently declining in Canada. However, the likelihood, timing, and severity of a future wave of COVID-19 is uncertain,” NACI said in a release.

Advertisement 4

Article content

“It is possible that consistent with other respiratory viruses, incidence of COVID-19 will increase in the later fall and winter seasons thus posing a risk for individuals/communities and increasing pressure on health systems.”

Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says circulating Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible and able to evade immunity than previous versions, making a rise in cases likely in coming weeks.

She and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos are stressing the importance of up-to-date vaccination status, noting 40 per cent of Canadians still have not received a booster following their primary two shots, putting Canada behind other G7 countries when it comes to three doses.

Advertisement 5

Article content

Gibney said the definition of high-risk potential vaccine recipients should be expanded to younger people suffering conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.

“(Calling for boosters) is a big move forward but their recommendations are probably not wide-ranging enough,” he said.

Co-chair of the Strategic COVID-19 Pandemic Committee Dr. Noel Gibney poses for a photo, in Edmonton Monday Jan. 18, 2021.
Co-chair of the Strategic COVID-19 Pandemic Committee Dr. Noel Gibney poses for a photo, in Edmonton Monday Jan. 18, 2021. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia

The province’s top doctor said health-care officials have been waiting for NACI’s direction on further boosters before taking action.

“We continue to follow NACI guidance on COVID-19 vaccinations. If eligibility requirements for vaccine series and boosters change, we’ll update Albertans and make vaccines available to those who need them,” chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said in a June 22 tweet.

That message was reiterated Thursday by a spokesperson for Alberta Health, who said government would provide an update “in the near future.”

Advertisement 6

Article content

“The timing of these recommendations are in line with Alberta’s steps toward moving from an emergency crisis response to a more sustainable approach to COVID-19,” Lisa Glover said in an email.

As we prepare for the fall, Albertans can expect to see periods of increased transmission of both COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases like influenza.

While the province did reasonably well in rolling out first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccines, it stumbled after that, partly in response to strong resistance from the ruling UCP’s base and some MLAs, said NDP health-care critic David Shepherd.

“What we know from the track record of the UCP is they’ve dragged their feet so often in taking the actions needed to help protect our communities against COVID-19,” he said.

Advertisement 7

Article content

“We quickly saw that begin to fall apart when we started moving into vaccinations for younger people and third doses and we saw increasingly toxic anti-vaccine rhetoric from a few UCP MLAs and we have seen a complete plateauing of vaccination uptake.”

He said Health Minister Jason Copping needs to quickly unveil a plan on rolling out booster shots even as the UCP conducts a leadership race involving candidates opposed to continuing COVID-19 protections.

NACI says it will provide recommendations on the type of COVID-19 vaccine to be offered for this booster dose as evidence on appropriate vaccines becomes available.

Gibney said he’s confident the vaccines chosen will be consistent with changing COVID-19 variants.

“It makes a lot of sense to be changing it, just like we do for the flu,” he said.

But he said if governments are intent on living with COVID-19, improvements to air quality are needed in public buildings, particularly when the colder months approach.

“It’s still a pandemic, it’s not endemic,” said Gibney.

— With files from The Canadian Press

[email protected]

Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

    Advertisement 1

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.



Leave a comment

x
SMM Panel PDF Kitap indir