Health

COVID plateau may last into April; medical officer cautious – Belleville Intelligencer

Published

3 years ago

March 2, 2022

Members of the Hastings and Prince Edward Counties Board of Health listen as Dr. Ethan Toumishey, centre, speaks during Wednesday’s meeting. Photo by Zoom

Hastings and Prince Edward Counties’ top public health official is expressing guarded optimism about declining rates of COVID-19, saying cases are declining but there remains the potential for future variants and spikes.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned … we just have to keep monitoring the trends over time and staying humble in the face of the pandemic,” medical officer of health Dr. Ethan Toumishey said.

He spoke one day after the Ontario government dropped some COVID-19 regulations, moving into another step of the province’s reopening. Premier Doug Ford is among the government officials who have said the government may lift masking regulations within a few weeks.

“I do support the approach of the province” in lifting the requirements for vaccination passports and capacity limits for buildings and gatherings, Toumishey said. He took no position on masking except to say it’s important that measures mirror local epidemiology – in short, how active COVID-19 is in a given area.

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health announced on Wednesday two more deaths of people with COVID-19. And on Tuesday, health unit data showed, the region’s count of active high-risk cases fell below 200 for the first time this year.

A total of 41 people have now died of or with COVID-19 since the pandemic began; the latest two were a person between ages 60 and 69 and one age 70 or older. The health unit does not release further details.

Its Wednesday COVID-19 update listed 81 new in high-risk settings compared to 68 on Monday. There were 191 active cases in those settings versus Monday’s 237.

The number of outbreaks in high-risk settings was unchanged at 12.

Hospitalizations declined from 25 on Monday to 23 on Wednesday. Two people were in intensive care, a number unchanged since Feb. 21.

Due to Ontario’s limiting of molecular COVID-19 testing to high-risk settings, the actual total numbers of outbreaks, new cases and active cases is not known.

The number of active high-risk cases has been in decline since January, when the region saw the peak of the pandemic’s fifth wave. But the case count also hit a plateau in February.

The novel coronavirus is “still having an effect” on the region, he said.

Asked about the numbers which are known, Toumishey said, “Probably for March we’re going to continue to see similar numbers.”

He again thanked everyone who had followed public health regulations and those who had been vaccinated.

“The better spot we’re in is all due to their efforts.”

Reopening may cause increase

Yet the doctor also cautioned the reopening process “will probably affect” the local statistics.

“We are seeing more reopening, more contact, more mobility in the community.” Past periods of increased contact and mobility have been linked to more transmission of the virus, provincial officials have said.

He said a further decline may not occur until a few weeks after Tuesday’s reopening and after the arrival, possibly in April, of better weather. Respiratory viruses such as COVID-19 circulate more when people are indoors, he and other doctors have said.

Toumishey said he still “strongly encourages” everyone to be vaccinated.

“As we continue to see COVID-19 circulating in the community, the need to protect your health is still very much there,” he said.

“Stay up to date on your vaccines.”

After a period of outreach involving mobile and pop-up vaccination programs, he said, “we’ll be winding down our mass (vaccination) sites.” He did not provide a timeline for the change.

“We will continue to provide access to the vaccine,” Toumishey said. The local rates of vaccination have been increasingly, but only incrementally.

Among this week’s vaccination statistics, only the number of people ages five and older with at least two doses had changed. It increased from 82 per cent on Monday to 83 per cent on Wednesday. Among adults, the rate was 88 per cent.

But only 51 per cent of people ages five and older and 61 per cent of adults have boosters.

Toumishey said the region has “very broad coverage” of vaccination.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, has said at least 90 per cent of the population needed to have full vaccination to prevent future pandemic waves. The province still defines full vaccination as two doses of vaccine, though Moore, Toumishey and other experts have advised getting third and – for the most vulnerable – fourth doses.

“I think we’re going to continue to see a downward trend” in vaccination, board chair Jo-Anne Albert said. She said the lack of need to have vaccination certificates could make people less likely to seek vaccines.

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Health

Health Canada approves updated Moderna COVID-19 vaccine

Published

16 mins ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Health Canada has authorized Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine that protects against currently circulating variants of the virus.

The mRNA vaccine, called Spikevax, has been reformulated to target the KP.2 subvariant of Omicron.

It will replace the previous version of the vaccine that was released a year ago, which targeted the XBB.1.5 subvariant of Omicron.

Health Canada recently asked provinces and territories to get rid of their older COVID-19 vaccines to ensure the most current vaccine will be used during this fall’s respiratory virus season.

Health Canada is also reviewing two other updated COVID-19 vaccines but has not yet authorized them.

They are Pfizer’s Comirnaty, which is also an mRNA vaccine, as well as Novavax’s protein-based vaccine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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Health

B.C. mayors seek ‘immediate action’ from federal government on mental health crisis

Published

20 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Anne Joseph

VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.

The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.

Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”

Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024

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Health

Canada to donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to combat mpox outbreaks in Africa

Published

4 days ago

September 13, 2024

Anne Joseph

The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.

It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.

Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”

Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.

Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.

On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.

Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”

But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”

“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.

Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.

Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.

Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.

“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.

“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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