It might be time for a COVID-19 update:
Here are the main new variants of concern and what to expect:
BQ.1.1- 4 % of new cases in Canada
BA.2.75.2- 3% of new cases in Canada
XBB- < 1% of new cases in Canada
There are more than 300 Omicron sub-variants being tracked worldwide but these three are receiving the most attention and XBB seems to be the main variant to watch with the greatest number of immune escaping mutations. The world is watching as Singapore struggles with an XBB driven wave that is driving hospitalizations up despite a high vaccination rate in that country. 79 % of Singapore's population has received a booster dose which means three of the original COVID vaccines. The number of new cases there since September 20th has more than doubled from 16,000 a week to more than 40,000 between October 4th to 10th. The number of new hospitalizations have tripled there since the beginning of October, mostly driven by XBB.
Singapore has a high vaccination rate, but not with the new bivalent vaccines.
I am not happy about reading these tables and seeing phrases like '7 day rolling average' and 'number of ICU admissions'. It's triggering a bit of panic. Although we have made tremendous strides in our battle against COVID-19, we have all been traumatized in various ways by so many forces in this new world stained by COVID-19. What I need to remember is that we have the tools to keep COVID at bay but we need to remember how to use them.
BQ.1.1 and XBB may cause waves of infection but there are two main ways we could prevent them from causing a huge increase is serious illness and death: Bivalent vaccines specific to Omicron and antivirals like Paxlovid.
Here are some sobering numbers.
62.5 % of Canadians have had COVID-19. 19.6 million Canadians were infected between December 15, 2021 and August 15, 2022. I was one of them....twice.
That's 80,000 new infections a day!
Check out this link: https://www.covid19immunitytaskforce.ca/
That was the effect of the incredibly infectious Omicron variant. There will be a thread in the comments of this post suggesting that vaccines must not work if so many Canadians were infected with COVID-19. The vast majority of these Canadians had mild illness with only a small percentage requiring hospitalization. Now, in this phase of the COVID pandemic, it is not about infections, it is about the rate of serious illness and death and the ability of vaccines to reduce this rate.
Just over 50 % of Canadians have more than the original series of two COVID vaccines. Bivalent vaccines are here with Pfizer's BA 4-5 bivalent vaccine available now to everyone over 18. Will this vaccine provide protection against an Omicron wave of BQ.1.1 and XBB variants? That is under intense study. We do know that these vaccines provide better protection than the original COVID vaccine which means that for folks with only the original COVID series or boosters with the original COVID vaccine, you are less protected than if you line up for a boost of the bivalent vaccine.
For healthcare workers barely managing at this moment, our greatest fear is an early flu season, which is already here, and a wave of one of these new Omicron variants smashing together with disastrous consequences.
Please consider four things that will protect you, your family, the elderly and frail and your precious healthcare system:
1/ Get a bivalent booster. I am option for Pfizer's BA 4-5 vaccine this week. It is recommended that you wait 3 - 6 months from your last vaccine or COVID infection before receiving this booster.
2/ Get a flu shot. In this province alone, you will decrease the number of hospitalizations caused by the flu by 2,400. Keep 2,400 children and frail adults from getting seriously from the flu.
3/ Remember paxlovid. It is an antiviral used within 5 days of the onset of COVID infection that dramatically reduces the risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19. Click here to review your or your family member's eligibility for paxlovid:
https://www.ontariohealth.ca/sites/ontariohealth/files/2022-04/Guidance%20for%20health%20care%20providers%20-%20Access%20to%20Paxlovid%20-%20EN.pdf
4/ Wear a mask in public.
Until we see where things go this fall and whether or not one of these new strains create a massive new wave with a new variant of concern that could escape immune protection, I am wearing a mask in public. I am looking at my masks again making sure that they are new, unsoiled, well fitting N95's.
Without using these tools, we are " Sleep walking on a tightrope". Dr David Naylor, Co-Chair Canada's COVID-19 immunity Task Force.
I am so sorry about this folks. This is bloody exhausting. I am exhausted, your are exhausted and the world will never be the same but we are a resilient lot. We have the ability to keep on going, keep being grateful, keep finding joy and keep building a future. Be smart and.....I haven't said this in a long while, we've got this.
Anne-Marie
Please share.
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