The Omicron variant of COVID-19 dominated a virtual news conference in Manitoba.
Deputy Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal didn’t have numbers on how many new cases are Omicron, but did say that the 7-day average has increased by roughly 60 percent in the last week.
Asked what would trigger additional restrictions, Atwal says multiple factors need to be considered, not just one.
“And that involves what is circulating, that involves what adherence we have to the orders right now, that involves case numbers, it involves test positivity,” he said. “And most importantly now, it involves how things have decoupled with vaccinations…what is the risk on the acute care system and the newest variable is now Omicron.”
Atwal says more studies need to be done on Omicron to determine its severity, but did acknowledge it will eventually become the dominant strain.
A preliminary report from South Africa, where Omicron was first detected, was mentioned during the virtual news conference. It said South Africa may have reached its peak with Omicron and new cases there appear to be on the decline.
When asked about it, Atwal says while encouraging, more evidence is needed before jumping to conclusions.
“It’s always hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison…just for an example in South Africa the median age for someone is 27, and in Canada that’s 41 and that’ll have a big impact on the implications of having severe outcomes,” he pointed out, adding other factors to consider with the study include vaccine uptake, type of vaccine available, and rate of natural immunity with previous waves that occurred in that country.
Omicron-specific vaccine
With Omicron spreading in Canada and around the world, Moderna is working on a vaccine specifically for this COVID-19 variant.
That from the medical lead of Manitoba’s vaccine implementation task force, Dr. Joss Reimer, who says it’s going to take months before it is approved by Health Canada.
“Because we need to make sure that we are offering a safe and effective product for Canadians,” she said. “I think that there is a lot of promise in what the companies can do because mRNA can be adjusted much faster than other vaccine types.
But much faster still means it will take months to complete the studies in a way that we can get reliable data.”
For now, Reimer says the best way to protect yourself against the Omicron variant is to get a booster shot.
According to numbers from the province, a total of 2,378,890 doses of vaccine have been administered in Manitoba, including 55,426 first doses given to children ages five to 11.
As of today, 84.6 per cent of all eligible Manitobans ages five and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine, 78.2 per cent have received two doses and 16.8 per cent have received three doses.
