Omicron and other things

 

This might be a long post. I'd like to cover a lot of information. We have gone from a community that seemed to be slowly rising above the COVID-19 pandemic to one that now needs to duck. Duck, the verb, meaning dip down quickly to avoid being hit. That's an apt term. I believe this part of our COVID-19 journey will be quick, not prolonged, unending or too painful. Unlike the dark winter of 2020/2021, as we head into this Christmas season with more indoor gatherings and the threat of the new omicron variant, now we have vaccines and vaccine passports and tried and true public health measures. Let's dive in: 1/ Omicron. It is highly transmissible and likely more transmissible than the delta variant. Like delta, when omicron is transmitted, the infected person quickly has large amounts of virus replicating in their system before they become symptomatic. That's the time when the virus can be spread to others. New research shows that two doses of mRNA vaccine is enough to substantially lower the risk of severe illness from the variants but may not be enough to stop many people from becoming infected and transmitting the virus to others who could become seriously ill like the unvaccinated. 2/ The unvaccinated. Unless the unvaccinated take great precautions, hospitals and ICU's will fill up with unvaccinated people who become ill from both the delta variant and now, omicron. Please get vaccinated not only for your own health and well being but for our already strained healthcare system that has limited ICU capacity and limited and strained front line worker capacity; that's your emergency room, hospital and ICU staff, your family doctors, you COVID assessment centre staff, your vaccine clinic staff and the staff who are working tirelessly to cope with the massive increase in mental health issues caused by the pandemic. This does not mean that the fully vaccinated are safe to step outside public health guidelines. More and more fully vaccinated folks are ending up in hospital ( still very, very few). We may be too confident in our vaccine status. Attending large indoor gatherings is not safe. Keep it small. Keep a couple of windows open and keep it short. Boosters and rapid antigen tests may help us to stay safe this holiday season. 3/ Boosters Many vaccines require three or more doses of vaccine to confer immunity; gardasil, hepatitis B, several childhood vaccines. There is evidence that a third dose of any mRNA vaccine dramatically increases your immunity to delta and most likely omicron. Last week, our National Advisory Committee on Immunization ( NACI) recommended that Canada expand booster eligibility to all people 50 and older as well as other high risk groups. NACI also recommends offering the booster to 18 - 49 year olds in areas with high rates of transmission. In Ontario, people 50 and over can start booking appointments for third doses on Monday. This page has a great review of who can book now and who needs to wait until the provincial booking system opens on the 13th of December: https://wdgpublichealth.ca/your-health/covid-19-information-public/covid-19-vaccine-information/third-booster-doses Take any mRNA vaccine that is offered to you. If you have had two Pfizer vaccines, a third Moderna vaccine is perfect and vice versa. If you have had one AZ and one mRNA vaccine, any mRNA vaccine is perfect. There is now a limited supply of the J and J vaccine available in the province for people who have had allergic reactions to a mRNA vaccine. More details to follow. 4/ Rapid Antigen tests Governments are facing mounting pressure to provide access to these tests before the holidays. The tests produces results in minutes. Rapid antigen tests are a fast and easy way to detect COVID-19. They are similar to a pregnancy test. They detect viral antigens which are a type of protein on the surface of the virus. Results are right in front of you within minutes. If results are negative, it is pretty safe for you to gather with other vaccinated people. A negative test result adds another level of reassurance. A positive test needs confirmation with the gold standard test, the DNA PCR test most commonly done using the nasopharyngeal swab. If you test positive on the rapid antigen test, do not gather until a PCR test is done. You can find these tests at most pharmacies. Many Shoppers Drug Marts carry these. Pharmore pharmacy in Guelph also has a supply for we Guelphites. Call ahead to find out if your pharmacy has them or check the pharmacy website. Let's keep putting pressure on the Ontario provincial government to make these tests widely available and free. Yep. I have created a petition for this purpose. You can sign here if you'd like: https://chng.it/m8CSNZVzrk You may think we are losing the war against COVID-19. I think we are entering the final battle. At least for rich countries like ours. And in this battle, we are ready to roar. Stay the course and please be safe. Get vaccinated. Anne-Marie Please share. Help us as we assist in the roll out of COVID vaccines in Lesotho. If you would like to be apart of this vitally important work towards making sure that vaccines are distributed in resource poor countries like Lesotho, you can donate here: https://www.braceletofhope.ca/ways-to-give/ For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here: https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/