What impact will Easter gatherings have on Canada’s sixth wave?
Posted April 18, 2022 7:43 am.
As many Canadians enjoyed a long weekend with family and friends for Easter, there are concerns about what the outcome of those gatherings will be on the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
New data released Monday shows cases of COVID-19 have already been rising sharply across the country in recent weeks, as are severe illnesses.
Although PCR testing has shifted to “targeted” collection, the country does continue to examine wastewater samples to determine community test positivity, as well as hospitalization rates.
As of Monday, the BA.2 Omicron subvariant accounts for 61 per cent of viruses sequenced in Canada.
“The growth rate of BA.2 internationally appears to be highest where there is a combination of low booster dose coverage and where the BA.1 sub-lineage has not already driven high infection rates during the Omicron wave,” the public health agency of Canada says.
Related articles:
-
Pope makes Easter plea for Ukraine peace, cites nuclear risk
-
Vancouver churches welcome back Easter Sunday service without restrictions
-
Make access to COVID-19 booster shots ‘ultraconvenient,’ experts say
The seven-day reporting period was conducted prior to the holiday and we won’t know what impact visiting with friends and family will have on the COVID-19 situation until next week at the earliest.
While some celebrated the holiday with a dinner, Easter Sunday also saw the return to in-person church services for many, for the first time since 2019. In recent years, most services were offered virtually or with limited attendance. Some provinces also required worshippers to be fully vaccinated before attending, but those limits have since been lifted, as have most provincial mask mandates.
Infectious diseases expert Dr. Brian Conway is among those paying close attention to what a restriction-less holiday will have. With most mandates lifted, he says the responsibility is on individuals to ensure they stay home when sick and wear masks in large group settings.
However, he expects many may have had a tough time taking those preventative steps during the holiday.
“Well I think there’s COVID fatigue clearly, people want this to end, they want it to be over, and there is clearly a risk in people thinking COVID is gone when it is not. This will be a test for us all,” Conway said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says it is not unexpected that transmission is increasing due, in part, to an increase in in-person activities, the more infectious BA.2 Omicron sub-lineage, as well as waning immunity.
The agency says more than 5.1 million Canadians have not gotten fully vaccinated and many others have resisted getting a booster shot.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recently updated its guidance on boosters and is strongly recommending provinces and territories immediately deploy second boosters to high-risk groups, including seniors 80 years and older. It also urged those holding out to get a booster right away.
“Because the Omicron variant is immune evasive, two doses of COVID-19 vaccines offer less protection against Omicron than against previous variants. Fortunately, boosters can help increase antibody levels that wane over time after the second dose. Although vaccine effectiveness against infection decreases over time, evidence shows that two doses of mRNA vaccines generally maintain good effectiveness against severe outcomes across variants, and a booster further increases vaccine effectiveness to over 90% against severe outcomes,” Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Monday.
With files from Laura Krause
