Even with high levels of immunization, unvaccinated people endanger the safety of people vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
“We really tend to forget that we are in a contagious pandemic, which means that our actions affect the people around us,” said Dr. David Fissman, co-author of the study and professor of epidemiology at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Epidemiology in Dala Lana. health, Global News reported.
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Published on April 25, the study uses a model of infectious disease based in the province of Ontario to replicate the interactions between vaccinated and unvaccinated subpopulations in a predominantly vaccinated population.
“We use models in many different ways,” Fissman said. “They’re just simplified versions of reality.”
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This particular model uses different mixing techniques to understand how infection levels differ between those with and without stroke.
The parameters of the model include vaccine efficacy, baseline immunity in unvaccinated people and the degree of recovery from infection, among others.
The rate of attacks among those vaccinated against COVID-19 was highest when they were randomly mixed in the unvaccinated subpopulation. They were lowest when surrounded by others who were also vaccinated.
“People don’t mix at random. (They) tend to interact preferentially with others like themselves, a phenomenon called “assortivity”, the study said.
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“People’s friends tend to be similar in age or people can hang out with the same sex. “They can interact with or attract more people from their own socio-economic group, their own ethnic group,” Fissman said.
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“This is also really important for people’s decision to get vaccinated against COVID,” he added.
For the unvaccinated, the frequency of attack is lowest when mixed among the vaccinated subpopulation.
“When there is a lot of mixing between vaccinated and unvaccinated people, the risk of unvaccinated people actually decreases,” Fissman said. “Vaccinated people become a buffer when you have a lot of mixing and the risk of being vaccinated increases.”
At this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials such as Kieran Moore and Bonnie Henry are encouraging everyone to manage the virus “at their own risk,” according to Fissman.
“(Nevertheless) it is, after all, a matter of collective action. “Unfortunately, in the system of communicable diseases, we are all connected, so we have to rely on public health for things like this,” Fissman said.
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“The decision to vaccinate cannot be formulated as a matter of personal choice, because it has consequences for the safety of other people in the community,” he added.
The authors’ findings remain consistent even when they have modeled lower levels of vaccine efficacy, such as those who did not receive a booster dose or with new variants of the virus.
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Afia Amoaco, co-author of the study and a second-year doctoral student at the University of Toronto, said it was unfortunate that vaccination had become so “politicized.”
“Now our health system is struggling,” she said.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, estimates that the waiting list for surgery has grown to between 225,000 and 250,000. Nova Scotia Health currently has about 27,000 patients waiting for surgery.
In Quebec, the latest figures show that at least 160,000 people are waiting.
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Data from the Public Health Agency of Canada also shows that hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by about 18 percent in Canada between April 4 and April 11 to 6,020 people in need of beds.
Earlier this month, Dr. Sakib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical officer, said most of the provincial hospitalizations were caused by people who remained unvaccinated or who were vulnerable and did not receive the vaccine.
This is in line with data from the Public Health Agency, which shows that as of March 27, people with three doses of vaccine accounted for about 10% of hospitalizations across Canada, while 61% were unvaccinated. About 20% of patients had two injections.
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“Being fully vaccinated in every age group and being reinforced protects you from hospitalization,” Shahab said. “COVID-19 is not something that will disappear.”
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Health Canada says people who have been vaccinated are significantly protected from severe COVID-19 outcomes, which include hospitalization and death.
He found that in March, unvaccinated people were eight times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die than fully vaccinated people who received an additional vaccine.
“History tells us again and again how important it is. “We look at history to see that everyone has a role to play,” Amoako said, referring to smallpox and measles. “It’s a very collective thing.”
Federal government data show that about 57% of Canadians aged 18 and over have been fully vaccinated with the extra dose, while 47% of the general population have received a booster for COVID-19.
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Newfoundland and Labrador, the province with the highest vaccination rates in the country – 91% of its population with two vaccines – have 55% of their people with a third dose.
The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was prepared at a vaccination clinic in Dartmouth, NS, on Thursday, June 3, 2021. CANADIAN PRESS / Andrew Vaughn
Dr Theresa Tam, the national chief public health officer, called on Canadians aged 18 and over to receive a raise due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases due to the more portable AD. Option 2.
“Whether you call it the sixth wave or not, there is an increase in most parts of Canada,” Tam said earlier this month.
She said the booster is also recommended for those who have recently been infected with COVID-19.
– With files from Canadian Press
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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