B.C. not speeding up booster rollout despite Omicron COVID-19 variant
Posted November 30, 2021 6:11 am.
Last Updated November 30, 2021 11:25 pm.
B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the province is not considering speeding up COVID-19 vaccine boosters, after the discovery of a new variant of concern.
Several cases of the Omicron variant were found in Ontario in recent days, and the province’s top doctor warned that additional infections would likely be detected.
Dr. Kieran Moore says Ontario is thinking of shortening the length of time between the vaccines and the booster as a part of an enhanced strategy.
In B.C., Henry says the best course of action remains the one the province is already on.
Current guidance suggests six to eight months is the most effective and Henry says until research proves otherwise, British Columbians should expect to get their invitation to receive a booster as scheduled.
“We have no indication at all that there’s a decrease in the sort of first six months in most people after having two doses, so we are not looking at that,” she said.
She also stresses that the severity of the variant is still not determined.
“We don’t know whether this variant has properties that make it more, well looks like it’s probably slightly more transmissible, but we don’t know if it makes more severe disease or has impact on the vaccine,” she said, echoing the statements of worldwide public health officials since Omicron was discovered in South Africa Nov. 24.
Related Articles:
-
U.S. not currently contemplating wider travel limits in face of Omicron, Biden says
-
Omicron: What we know and don’t know about new COVID-19 variant
-
Epidemiologists believe Canada’s travel ban approach may not slow down new COVID variant
“Preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, but this may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected, rather than a result of specific infection with Omicron. There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants,” the World Health Organization said Sunday.
Henry says the province is already seeing effectiveness against the Delta variant in its vaccine response and encourages everyone eligible to get immunized.
Related Video:
“Omicron just reminds us that we are not out of this pandemic yet, it is still spreading, and until we are in a place around the world where people have protection [through] vaccination we are going to see variants arise,” Henry said Monday.
In B.C., people who are immunocompromised, Indigenous, 70 and older, as well as those who received AstraZeneca are being sent invitations to receive their booster in recent months.
Starting in January, those who received their shots half a year ago will be sent a booking invitation. To sign up, head to the provincial website.
With files from Liza Yuzda
