Pressure growing to change B.C. COVID-19 booster strategy amid Omicron uncertainty
With Alberta announcing adults over age 60 can start booking a COVID-19 booster shot – and Ontario expected to announce a similar move for those over 50 on Thursday – pressure is mounting on B.C. health officials to do the same as concerns over the Omicron variant continue to grow.
While it’s not yet clear if Omicron is more contagious or deadly than Delta, governments around the world have started restricting international travel from some African countries and booster doses are being fast-tracked in many places.
On Tuesday, B.C.’s provincial health officer credited booster shots with helping reduce COVID-19 in hospitals, but was lukewarm to the idea of expanding their availability beyond the current access for those who are six months past their second dose and over 70, health-care workers, the immunocompromised and anyone with dual AstraZeneca doses. Everyone else will be eligible starting in January, six to eight months after their second dose.
"I don't think it'll change, but everything is new; we are looking at the information that's coming around Omicron," said Dr. Bonnie Henry, noting she’s awaiting new guidelines that the National Advisory Committee on Immunization is expected to release this week.
EXPERTS URGE PROACTIVE APPROACH TO OMICRON
One of the country’s most prominent epidemiologists has urged the province to take a more proactive approach. Speaking at a weekly webinar organized by a grassroots B.C. advocacy group – which is pushing for the use of rapid tests and eduation about airborne transmission of COVID-19 – Dr. David Fisman said he doesn’t think B.C. is doing “as well as it might.”
Fisman, a professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said while the jury is still out on whether Omicron is more dangerous than Delta, a proactive approach is preferable. When CTV News asked how much more contagious it would have to be to cause problems and potentially trigger a fifth wave, Fisman said it wouldn’t have to be much.
“There’s a lot of different moving parts going on … some estimates are 10 to 25 per cent more infective per day,” he said. “That can put you back into epidemic growth because these relatively small percentages – it’s like compound interest, it can really rev up growth a lot. So, it is a worry, and clearly I'm not the only one who thinks so because I'm not the one who shut down the flights out of different countries."
Fisman highlighted that Israel began fast-tracking third-dose boosters amidst surging cases and found considerable success in doing so.
“We don't have to wait to have a disaster and then react," he said. “We have (vaccine doses) in the country and they’re going in the garbage can.”
A RISKY TIME OF YEAR, EVEN IF OMICRON ISN’T WORSE
Henry acknowledged that even if the best-case scenario plays out and Omicron is no worse than the Delta strain of COVID-19, the winter is a risky time.
“The days are darker and colder and shorter and we’re spending more time indoors where this virus continues to spread more easily,” she warned.
And while Henry has been reluctant to use the words “airborne” or “aerosol” in her descriptions of how COVID-19 spreads, Fisman has made it his mission to educate the public about the risks.
“Everybody can understand aerosol; it’s Canada so we can see our breaths 5 months of the year, so if you tell us that’s how this spreads, people can fill in the gaps in terms of how they should behave in different settings,” said Fisman, who also criticized B.C. public health officials’ secrecy around outbreaks.
“People have no ability to use available tools to protect themselves if they’re kept ignorant of risk.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.