Concerned

 I am concerned.

https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/ontario-dashboard/

Let's keep an eye on the Ontario Science Advisory table as it moves from being hosted by the Dala Lana School of Public Health, a politically neutral organization, to Public Health Ontario which is an agency of the Government of Ontario.

I rely on the Science Advisory Table for clear, accurate, unbiased, non-partisan, science-based information. Can Public Health Ontario be politically neutral? Will we receive the information we need to understand how to protect ourselves now that most public health restrictions against COVID-19 have been lifted? I hope so. Will the fact that we are two months away from a provincial election muddy the waters and make obtaining accurate information very difficult?

I believe that science and medicine should remain separate from politics just as church and state be two separate entities.

Here is the information you should know today, the last day of the advisory table's existence as a non-political, neutral entity. Click on the above link.

For four days in a row, Ontario logged more than 3,000 new daily COVID- 19 cases, a number that is climbing despited limited PCR testing. Of those tested, there is a 16.7 % positivity rate which is very high. Dr. Peter Jüni, who heads the Science Advisory Table, believes that the real number of daily cases in Ontario to be around around 30,000 to 35,000 new daily cases based on testing for COVID-19 in waste water.

Hospitalizations due to COVID are climbing as well with 891 in hospital today, up 143 from a week ago. ICU admissions have climbed to 165 up 8 from last week.

Most of these increases are being driven by the BA.2 Omicron variant which is rapidly becoming the dominant variant in the country following the lead of our European partners.

It truly is NOT the time to be less careful. It is now our choice but for me and mine, masks are staying on in public for the foreseeable future. Make it a well fitting N95. If there are gaps in the mask, the new highly transmissible BA.2 variant will get in with ease.

It would appear, from early data, that mRNA vaccines offer a similar degree of protection against both Omicron strains. And, in review:

1/ Two vaccines provide little to no protection against getting infected with Omicron. ( BA.1 or BA.2) but two vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization by almost 60 % and ICU admissions by 65 %. Two vaccines reduce the risk of dying from COVID-19 in people over 50 by 59 %.

2/ Three vaccines reduce the risk of getting COVID ( BA.1 or BA.2) by up to 70 %, two to four weeks after the third dose. Three doses reduce the risk of serious illness and hospitalization by up to 90% and three doses decrease the risk of dying of COVID-19 in people over 50 by 95% after two weeks.

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/10/how-well-do-vaccines-protect-against-omicron-what-the-data-shows/

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00775-3

If you are not vaccinated, consider it.

Some good news. In Ontario, people over the age of 12 can receive three doses. Five to eleven year olds are eligible for two doses and there is no approved vaccine for children under the age of five. Not only are people under eleven far less likely to develop any serious illness from COVID-19 infection, two doses of vaccine in this age group remains very effective at preventing serious illness. Two vaccines are 90.7% effective at reducing the risk of getting symptomatic COVID-19 in this age group with no cases of severe illness at all in several studies.

Take home message: Our under 5- 11 year olds are well protected after 2 doses of vaccines and our under 5 year olds are at low risk of serious illness with no vaccinations. Our kids are OK even in the face of BA.1 and BA.2.

https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/covid-19-vaccine-for-children-and-adolescents

The above link takes you to some great information about kids and COVID in general.

The research on the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron variants is in the early stages. Vaccines work against both but the information I have provided in this post is subject to change as our research evolves.

I would like to pay a special tribute to all the members of Ontario's Science Advisory Table. You have been a beacon of light in this crazy storm. Thank you for your intelligence, expertise and wisdom.

Here is a list of all of the members of this remarkable team:

https://covid19-sciencetable.ca/about/

Anne-Marie

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