As two new variants of COVID-19 begin to circulate in Alberta, the health minister says the risk remains low, with vaccine guidelines for fourth doses to be released in the “coming weeks.”
Health Minister Jason Copping said the BA4 and BA5 variants were circulating in the province at “very low levels”.
Sewage sampling shows that the number of COVIDs in both of Alberta’s major cities has been rising since mid-June.
“We’re watching it closely,” Copping said Monday. “We know other provinces, Ontario and British Columbia, are seeing increases.”
Copping said the province is reviewing the latest guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), which says it’s important for older people and those at increased risk of severe COVID-19, regardless of how many boosters they’ve already received.
NACI also noted that while vaccine protection against symptomatic disease wanes over time, protection against severe disease is better maintained.
While he acknowledged the rising trends of COVID effluent, the province is not taking steps to slow that circulation, instead encouraging Albertans to get every dose of vaccine they are responsible for.
“We know that previous vaccines are very effective against severe outcomes and the same in previous infection for BA4 and BA5,” Copping said. “The evidence is clear on this.
“I understand that work is ongoing in terms of updating the vaccines, potentially for the fall,” he added. “It’s under evaluation.”
Some of the key pandemic indicators are now higher than they were at this time last year when the Delta variant was spreading, including nearly tripling the number of new cases per day. In addition, there are about 400 more Albertans in hospital with COVID this summer.
New laboratory-confirmed cases rose on June 29 for the first time in nine weeks of decline.
Hard outcomes, such as ICU stays and deaths from COVID, remain relatively flat from last year.
“We can’t stop it,” said Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious disease specialist. “That’s what a respiratory virus does.
“At this point, we know what to do for people who are at higher risk, such as wearing a high-quality mask, to stay safe.”
Last summer, Premier Jason Kenney’s “Best Summer Ever” led to a spike in cases that pushed the health system to the brink of adopting triage protocols later in the fall.
This time, experts say it’s less likely because most vaccinated people develop mild symptoms from BA4 and BA5. However, an estimated 10 million eligible Canadians have yet to receive their third dose.
“This is the best defense against an autumn wave that could lead to an increase in hospitalizations,” said Dr. Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist.
With files from The Canadian Press
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