And of course, it's all about vaccines. We did not see Omicron coming but we also underestimated the effectiveness of our existing vaccines at preventing severe illness caused by Omicron. Future boosters may need to be tailored to target new and existing variants but it would appear that the vaccines we have will get us through. And then it is on to a new but manageable COVID 19 future; the post-pandemic era. After every big world event, a new and different world slips into place. The post-COVID era will look different and it will be different but generations before us have moved forward into their new worlds. Some had to re-build, re-invent, re-imagine and.....we will too.
Some hard but hopeful facts:
1/ Our existing vaccines are not as effective at preventing infection but they do render COVID 19 as a mild to moderate upper respiratory infection; a cold, in most people. I have seen patients in my practise with COVID 19 divided into two groups: those with two vaccines and those with three. Their presentations differ only slightly. Those with two vaccines often need to be assessed. They have significant head-cold symptoms often associated with a cough that lingers, some shortness of breath that resolves and fatigue that lifts within weeks. I have not seen long-haul symptoms with this variant yet. We shall see. Those with three vaccines call in mostly because they are confused by a positive rapid test but their symptoms are so mild they are not sure what to do. They need reassurance and advice.
Six million people have had a booster dose in Ontario. Many have been exposed to COVID 19 and by far, most are not suffering physically to any great degree. That's the story of Omicron. That's us, the boosted population and the double vaccinated population. We will move into the post-COVID world. We will reassess, adjust and build what I hope is a much better world with a much better future for our children and our grandchildren. There are bigger global threats that need to be addressed. My hope is that we will not to slip into complacency once the COVID-19 threat is behind us. Put your strength and talents to the other tasks that desperately need to be addressed, like climate change, global warming, a better health care system, appropriate use of our resources and ONE Health.....health for every human being and creatures on the planet. I could go on but I might sound a little preachy and big goals might be hard to imagine for most of us who are just dragging our tired selves to the end of this pandemic. But to the end we will go.
2/ Defence against hospitalization has held up remarkably well. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have stabilized in the province. Thank you for getting vaccinated and for suffering through the most recent shutdowns. We did this. We saved lives collectively. You are a beautiful vaccinated bunch. If you are not vaccinated, come to the other side and join this group of game changers, these life-savers. A beautiful bunch.
3/ There will be future vaccines that will be specifically designed for Omicron and other variants. We have that technology and intelligence. Wouldn't it be grand if we could use the intellectual property of the world to create a better and more hopeful future. It is possible but not without a coordinated and focused effort.
4/ Boosters work. A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that while vaccine effectiveness against Omicron hospitalization fell to just 57 per cent in people who were more than six months past their second shot, a booster dose reduced the risk of serious illness and hospitalization by 90 per cent. Get boosted. Another study from CDC researchers published in the the Journal of the American Medical Association last week found three shots of mRNA vaccines were close to 67 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from Omicron compared to the unvaccinated.
5/ Limits on access to testing make it difficult to know where we are with Omicron, but the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table believes that new cases per million inhabitants have fallen by more than 50 per cent since hitting a peak of 1,000 per million in early January.
Vaccines are the answer.
We are getting there.
Anne-Marie
Please share. And a reminder about Wednesday's 'Finding the Balance during COVID-19' webinar with our special guest, Dr Matthew Tenenbaum. You can register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dLTpYNAUSZCMxW5BWCa80g
Please share.
For non-Facebook users, you can find this post here:
https://braceletofhope.blogspot.com/
For mental health support here:
https://familyserviceguelph.on.ca/
For local assistance with anxiety and depression:
www.here4help.ca
CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca
Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.
And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk
https://good2talk.ca/
No comments:
Post a Comment