Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Canada's top doctors said Thursday before the new, more infectious variants of Omicron settled in everyone targeted by the booster effect. He said it was essential to receive a third injection. The next few weeks.
Dr. Teresatam, Director of Public Health in Canada, said the number of cases of COVID-19 is currently stable, but authorities have spread BA.4 and BA.5 from late summer to early fall. The country enters the season of respiratory viruses.
Tam said the best defense against this expected wave is to be up to date with the COVID-19 shot.
She said that the first series of injections of the COVID-19 vaccine did not provide adequate protection and that all adults and certain high-risk adolescents needed a third dose. Said.
Government data suggests that the first two shots provide little protection against Omicron infections — "little protection," Tam said earlier this month — and others. Data from the country also suggests that the primary series provides a negligible level of protection for the transmission.
The first two doses offset the possibility of serious consequences such as hospitalization or death, but their protection is significantly reduced over time and initiates an immune response. Tam says that a third dose will be required.
Canada lags behind other countries in booster dose coverage
Tam said the benefits of the third dose are already well known. Based on the data she collected in April and May of this year, she could be hospitalized more with booster shots than unvaccinated when Omicron's activity was very high in Canada. He said he was 5 times less likely to die from the virus and 7 times less likely to die from the virus. ..
Canada lags behind developed countries in the scope of booster doses. According to Duclos, only 60% of adults who take the first two doses have returned to one-third. In other countries such as Japan and the United Kingdom, this rate is significantly higher.
"Third dose rates lag behind most other G7 countries. Don't lag. We are ahead of all these countries. Others. There are two doses in the country. We know that we have the ability to achieve better results.
"Any doctor or health professional says So it's important to take the shot you're waiting for. Like the virus, immunity has evolved, and Omicron brutally made us understand that there are no more two doses. "
Duclos stated that all adults in Canada should have been vaccinated with at least one COVID-19 virus in the last nine months. He said the Canadians shot last summer are no longer "latest" and need to roll up their sleeves now for boosters.
For that reason, Duclos said Canada would no longer call people who had been vaccinated twice "fully vaccinated." However, he did not say whether the government's vaccination obligations would be adjusted to direct people to be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine three times.
Past COVID infections do not provide adequate protection: Tam
National Advisory Board on Immunization (NACI), an independent expert organization that guides Canada's vaccine policy. Is a booster dose for all adults.
The Commission states that if a person has a COVID infection, they will have to wait three months from diagnosis to obtain the booster dose.
Past COVID infections do not provide adequate protection, Tam said. She said some Canadians had the false impression that two doses of the COVID vaccine and past infections provided a sufficient range.
"Infection-related immunity, especially related to Omicron, can diminish over time. There are many other reasons for being shot," Tam said. Risk of developing symptoms.
Tam said she shouldn't wait for Canadians to get a vaccine specific to Omicron.
Major vaccine manufacturers such as Moderna and Pfizer are currently developing products tailored to current strains, but Tam says the products will be used in this country by Health Canada regulators. He said it could take several months to be approved.
She also said that these vaccines may not provide much more protection against Omicron than are already available.
"There is still considerable uncertainty about the exact timing and availability of new formulations," said Dr. Matthew Tunis, Secretary-General of NACI. "The Commission cannot predict how the future will evolve."