Dr Theresa Tam, Canada’s head of public health, said that while the number of COVID-19 cases was currently stable, officials were preparing for a resurgence in late summer and early autumn as variants avoided the immune system. such as BA.4 and BA.5 are becoming widespread and the country is entering the era of the respiratory virus.
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Tam said the best defense against this expected wave is to update with COVID-19 shots. The main series of vaccines – the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine – do not offer enough protection and a third dose is required for all adults and some high-risk adolescents, he said. Government data suggests the first two shots offer minimal protection against an Omicron infection – “There is almost no protection,” Tam said earlier this month – and data from other countries similarly suggest the main series offers negligible levels of protection during of transmission. The first two doses offset the possibility of serious outcomes such as hospitalization and death, but that protection diminishes significantly over time, requiring a third dose to trigger an immune response, Tam said.
Canada lags behind other countries in booster coverage
Tam said the benefits of a third dose are already known. He said, based on data collected in April and May of this year, when Omicron activity was very high in Canada, people with booster vaccine were five times less likely to be hospitalized and seven times less likely to die from the virus than the unvaccinated. . Canada lags behind other developed countries in terms of booster coverage. According to Duclos, only 60 percent of adults who took the first two doses returned for a third. Rates are significantly higher in other countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom “We are behind most G7 countries in terms of the percentage of third installments and we should not be behind, we were ahead of all these other countries with two installments. “We know we have the ability to do better and we will do better,” Duclos said. “As any doctor or health professional will tell you, it is important to go and get the vaccine that awaits you. Like the virus, immunity is also evolving and Omicron has made it hard for us to understand that two doses are no longer enough. . “ Duclos said every Canadian adult should have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the past nine months. Canadians who were vaccinated last summer are no longer “informed,” he said, and must roll up their sleeves now for help. To that end, Duclos said Canada would no longer call people who have received two doses “fully vaccinated.” However, he did not say whether government vaccine mandates would be adapted to force people to have three doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Previous COVID infection does not offer enough protection: Tam
The National Immunization Advisory Board (NACI), the body of independent experts guiding Canada’s vaccine policy, strongly recommends that all adults receive a booster dose. If a person has had a COVID infection, they will have to wait three months from the diagnosis to receive this booster dose, the committee said. A previous COVID infection does not offer enough protection, Tam said. He said some Canadians have the misconception that two doses of COVID vaccine plus a previous infection offer adequate coverage. “Infection-related immunity, especially with regard to Omicron, could weaken over time. There are also many other reasons to get vaccinated,” Tam said, citing the possibility that a booster dose could reduce the risk of developing long-term COVID symptoms. Tam said Canadians also should not wait for a special Omicron vaccine. While major vaccine manufacturers such as Moderna and Pfizer are currently developing products tailored to the current strain, Tam said it may take months for the product to be approved by Health Canada regulators for use in that country. He also said that these vaccines may not offer much more protection against Omicron than is already available. “There is still considerable uncertainty about the exact timing and availability of new formulations,” said Dr. Matthew Tunis, NACI Executive Secretary. “The commission is not in a position to predict how the future will develop.”
