'We can't abandon any precautions': B.C. physician on staying the course amid Omicron wave
As the highly-transmissible Omicron variant continues to fuel COVID-19 cases in the province, a B.C. physician is warning people to stay the course when it comes to restrictions set out by health officials.
CTV Morning Live spoke with family physician Dr. Rhonda Low Tuesday, who said it's more important now than ever to continue "aggressive" public health measures.
"Right now with where we are with COVID in the community, we can’t give up," she said. "Hopefully with time COVID might still be present but moved to the background in our community as we have vaccinations and better treatments."
Low said Health Canada's approval of the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid, is also a step in the right direction.
"It's the first ever prescription at-home anti-COVID pill that can help fight this infection," she said.
"As we get better with vaccinations, treatments, and as more people get sick — with herd immunity — we can let things go a little bit more but right now we can't give up and we can't abandon any of those precautions."
Low said because Omicron is so easily transmissible, it can help with herd immunity.
"Experts like Dr. Fauci in the U.S. has predicted everyone will get some version of this coronavirus over time," she said.
"But before we get herd immunity, there's gonna be a fine balance between the number of people who are protected from either vaccination or prior infection, with new infections that are filling up our hospitals and threatening to overwhelm our health-care system."
Low said getting vaccinated remains the best form of protection against COVID, including the Omicron variant.
"We're really asking that folks get vaccinated," she said. "It's the safest way in our community to help speed us along a good path."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.