Hang in there. We are going to be just fine.

It was a tense day at the office. I can't help but chuckle at various points throughout the day because what I considered to be absolutely impossible and insane with respect to huge increases in the volume of calls and patient appointments pales in comparison to what we are facing now. It is.....remarkable may not be the correct word. I love my job but right now, the only way to survive is to laugh at myself and my anemic efforts to keep up. Add vaccine booster shots on top of the regular work we do.....if I don't laugh, I won't make it and not making it is just not an option.

So, why do I feel optimistic? Because Omicron is absolutely ridiculous in terms of it's transmissibility. It is burning through it's fuel, which is us by the way, so fast that it simply will not be able to keep up this pace. Hold on to your hats. This will be a wild ride but it most definitely will be over. In very short order, most of the population will be immune to Omicron either by vaccination with a booster dose or by natural infection. That's a massive wall of immunity which will subdue COVID-19 into an endemic disease that our health care system can manage. And this is happening world-wide. COVID-19 may have mutated itself out of it's job!

Some essential reminders:

1/ Two doses of vaccine are less than 20 % effective against the omicron variant. Twenty percent is very little protection. Individuals with three vaccines have a 75% reduced risk of becoming infected and by far the vast majority that do become infected after a booster dose are either asymptomatic or have very mild symptoms. The most important thing that you can do to get us to the end of this pandemic is to be part of that wall of immunity by getting vaccinated.

2/ For those who are starting their vaccine series, thank you. You will need at least 21 days between your first and second dose and then three months until your third. I spoke to several people today who have had two doses but just haven't gotten around to booking their third. Book it. For Wellington Dufferin Guelph, you can book online at this link:

https://wdgpublichealth.inputhealth.com/ebooking

Many of us are providing vaccinations through our offices and pharmacies continue to be huge players in vaccine efforts. Try both. Public Health now has several vaccine clinics. Book now.

3/ Here is a list of the main symptoms of COVID-19 infection caused by Omicron which now accounts for an astounding 97% of all COVID infections in Ontario. Omicron has euchred all other variants.

Most common-

Cough

Fatigue

Congestion

Runny nose

Less common-

Fever

Loss of sense of smell

Loss of appetite

Brain fog

If you have these symptoms, you likely have COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant. Only people from high risk groups can access PCR testing through the provinces COVID Assessment Centres. For the rest of us, stay at home. Isolate. If you are double vaccinated, isolate for five days from the start of your symptoms. New evidence shows that people are most infectious early on with the Omicron variant. If your symptoms are worsening after 5 days, reach out for medical advice and remain in isolation until you have been assessed. Today, I spoke to many people with symptoms. Everyone had been vaccinated and everyone had mild cold-like symptoms. For unvaccinated people, isolate for 10 days. You are more infectious for a longer period of time if you have not been vaccinated.

This is the best link I have found that reviews the provinces new testing and isolation guidelines.

https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/1001387/updated-eligibility-for-pcr-testing-and-case-and-contact-management-guidance-in-ontario

4/ Isolation means the following:

Do not go to work.

Do not go to public areas including places of worship, grocery stores, pharmacies shopping malls etc

Do not have visitors in your home.

Cancel or reschedule non-urgent appointments. Where possible, arrange virtual appointments.

Do not take public transit.

Ask family/friends to drop off food or use delivery services.

Family members and close contacts should also isolate.

Here is what the end will look like. At some point, the World Health Organization will determine when enough countries have reduced their COVID-19 cases sufficiently, or at least, hospitalizations and deaths, to declare the pandemic officially over. When will that be? Sooner than you think despite how hopeless and dark things seem at present.

COVID-19 will not disappear, at least not in the short term but it will become manageable, treatable and preventable.

That's a triumphant trio.....Manageable, treatable and preventable. Nice ring to it and that is exactly where we are headed.

Anne-Marie

Please share.

Also, I need to thank everyone who donated to our vaccine efforts in Lesotho through this Facebook page. You donated over $31,000 in the month of December alone. Thank you.

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/

.