Not only is Omicron the predominant COVID-19 variant circulating in Canada, but it also continues to dominate much of the conversation currently surrounding the pandemic. The latest update to draw attention involves the emergence of a new Omicron subvariant in Canada, with more than 100 cases already confirmed.
But with so much of the focus on Omicron, many may be left wondering whether other variants such as Delta continue to circulate in Canada at all.
The latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) shows that while the Omicron variant now accounts for the majority of positive COVID-19 samples collected by the agency, a small percentage of Delta cases continue to be detected. During the week of Jan. 9, the most recent data on display, 92 per cent of 404 samples collected in Canada tested positive for Omicron. Meanwhile, 7.9 per cent of the samples tested positive for the Delta variant.
“It’s really being replaced by Omicron…but Delta is still out there,” Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of Queen’s University’s infectious diseases division in Kingston, Ont., told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Wednesday.
With Omicron proving to be highly transmissible and quick to replicate, it essentially superseded the variant that dominated before it, Evans said. Delta had done the same to Alpha when it first emerged as well, he said.
“Delta is such a robust variant that it outcompeted Alpha, so we don’t really see Alpha at all anymore,” he said. “It may just be that we need a little more time to see Omicron push Delta out.”
Similar to what’s being observed on a national scale, Omicron makes up the vast majority of samples processed through whole genome sequencing in Ontario. The province’s latest surveillance report on whole genome sequencing shows that during the week of Jan. 2, 97.8 per cent of cases sequenced were Omicron, while 2.2 per cent were Delta.
“It looks like [Delta] is still holding on in a small percentage of people,” Dr. Susy Hota, medical director for infection prevention and control at the Toronto-based University Health Network, said on Thursday in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca. “It hasn’t been completely displaced.”
This trend of Delta remaining in circulation is true across most of the country as well, she said, not just in Ontario. In British Columbia, for the week of Jan. 9 to Jan. 15, 97 per cent of positive specimens sequenced by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control were Omicron, while three per cent were Delta. The most recent data logged by the province of Quebec on Jan. 8 shows that 94.6 per cent of screened COVID-19 cases were presumptive Omicron, while 5.4 per cent were presumptive Delta.
An important factor to consider in the reduced number of Delta cases being reported by provinces is the emergence of vaccines, said Hota. Two doses of COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be highly effective against the Delta variant, said Hota. But when it comes to Omicron, while several studies indicate that current vaccines are still effective, they point to the need for a third dose for optimal protection.
“The opportunity still remains for the Omicron BA.1 variant to be transmitted amongst people, whereas Delta is losing that opportunity because vaccines are more effective at preventing infections,” said Hota.
Both Evans and Hota said that the Delta variant is likely circulating in greater numbers among those who are unvaccinated, along with other vulnerable populations including those who are immunocompromised or older in age.
Despite the lower number of Delta cases being reported today compared to months ago, both Hota and Evans said it’s tough to tell whether the variant will disappear for good in the near future.
“With the continued low-level circulation of Delta in the community, Omicron may not be able to completely wipe Delta if it’s got lots of people it can still infect,” said Evans.
Hota said she anticipates the Delta variant may linger in small amounts across Canada for quite some time.
“It all really depends on what happens with future variants coming along, what their characteristics are like and whether they end up displacing [existing variants],” she said.
NEW SUBVARIANT DETECTED IN CANADA
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam announced that more than 100 cases of the new Omicron subvariant, BA.2, have been discovered in Canada as of Friday. This is double the amount of infections from the subvariant that was reported earlier last week.
“We’re one of the first countries to actually pick up on this variant, and we have at least over 100 identifications,” said Tam during Friday’s federal COVID-19 update.
Dr. Jeff Wrana is a senior investigator at Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute based in Toronto. He was involved in creating the platform to sequence and monitor all variants of concern that come through the joint microbiology lab between the University Health Network and Sinai Health Systems. Several BA.2 subvariant cases were first identified by the lab back in December through whole genome sequencing, he said.
“We detected the first BA.2 [cases] before New Years and since then, there’s been kind of sporadic cases,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on Thursday. “But in the last couple of weeks, it’s clearly expanding.”
According to PHAC, the BA.2 subvariant was first detected in Canada in November. Looking at the subvariant’s spread across the country so far, Wrana noted that the pace at which BA.2 cases are increasing is different than what was noted with the original version of Omicron in early December.
“Omicron was basically like an explosion went off – it was just everywhere almost instantaneously,” he said. “This [subvariant] is kind of showing a little bit more of a leisurely expansion.
“But we’re just starting to see the expansion now, so we don’t really know what the shape of that curve is going to look like.”
BA.2 is a descendant of the Omicron variant and has already been detected in nearly 50 countries worldwide, according to global coronavirus data sharing platform GISAID. The United Kingdom recently designated it a “variant under investigation,” noting it could have an increased growth rate compared to the original Omicron lineage, BA.1. The Omicron variant has four sub-lineages: BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.2 and BA.3.
The BA.2 subvariant is considered “stealthier” than the original version of Omicron because some of its genetic traits make it harder to detect. According to the World Health Organization, the BA.2 subvariant differs from BA.1 in some of its mutations, including in the spike protein. Still, Evans said there isn’t a significant difference in the genomic structure of the BA.2 subvariant compared to that of BA.1.
“This is not a jump from Alpha to Delta, or Delta to Omicron,” said Evans. “It’s basically Omicron with a few small changes in its genetic structure, nothing that would make it have to have a whole new Greek letter.”
As viruses become endemic, they tend to exhibit this kind of behaviour, said Evans, referring to the small degree of mutational differences that are often adopted by viruses over time. While BA.1 is the most common subvariant of Omicron currently circulating around the world, Evans pointed to several countries that are seeing much more rapid growth of BA.2 compared to BA.1 such as India, Denmark, the U.K. and Germany.
According to Wrana, however, it is still too early to tell whether Canadians are likely to see another surge in infections as a result of the BA. 2 subvariant.
“We don’t know yet if it’s really going to be explosive or peter out,” he said. “There are other variants that came and went that we all got worried about, but they didn’t really do anything.”
Evans said that very limited data suggests that the efficacy of current vaccines is similar to what it would be against BA.1. Additionally, based on reports so far, the new subvariant does not appear to be more severe than the original version of Omicron, said Hota, pointing to early data from Denmark.
“We do know that hospitalizations and deaths are lag indicators – they do happen later, so when you have a new change in variant, it can be a couple of weeks before you start to see that catch up,” she said. “But right now, there’s no signal to suggest that it’s resulting in a huge surge in hospitalizations or deaths.”
While Evans said the new subvariant should not be cause for concern at the moment, all experts said that more research is necessary to understand the true scope of BA.2.
“You shouldn’t be worried at the moment about this BA.2, as opposed to the original Omicron BA.1,” said Evans. “People shouldn’t be concerned about genetic changes unless those genetic changes actually mean something fundamentally different.”
“You basically can’t predict how these variants will behave within the population,” said Wrana. “You can do lab-based experiments that show this, that or the other, but translating that into how the variant behaves in the population is not that easy.”
With files from Brooklyn Neustaeter and The Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Three NASA astronauts whose prolonged space station mission ended with a trip to the hospital last month declined to say Friday which one of them was sick.
Astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps publicly discussed their spaceflight for the first time since returning from the International Space Station on Oct. 25. They spent nearly eight months in orbit, longer than expected because of all the trouble with Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule and rough weather, including Hurricane Milton.
Soon after their SpaceX capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, the three were taken to a hospital in nearby Pensacola along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who launched with them back in March.
One of the Americans ended up spending the night there for an undisclosed “medical issue.” NASA declined to say who was hospitalized or why, citing medical privacy.
When asked at Friday’s news conference which one had been sick, the astronauts refused to comment. Barratt, a doctor who specializes in space medicine, declined to even describe the symptoms that the unidentified astronaut had.
“Spaceflight is still something we don’t fully understand. We’re finding things that we don’t expect sometimes. This was one of those times and we’re still piecing things together on this,” said Barratt, the only member of the crew who had flown in space before.
Epps said everyone is different in how they respond to space — and gravity.
“That’s the part that you can’t predict,” she said, adding, “Every day is better than the day before.”
Dominick said little things like sitting comfortably in a hard chair took several days to get used to once he returned. He said he didn’t use the treadmill at all during his time in space, as part of an experiment to see what equipment might be pared on a long trip to Mars. The first time he walked was when he got out of the capsule.
The two astronauts who served as test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — will remain at the space station until February, flying back with SpaceX. Starliner returned empty in September.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Forty-three monkeys bred for medical research that escaped a compound in South Carolina have been spotted in the woods near the site and workers are using food to try to recapture them, authorities said Friday.
The Rhesus macaques made a break for it Wednesday after an employee at the Alpha Genesis facility in Yemassee didn’t fully lock a door as she fed and checked on them, officials said.
“They are very social monkeys and they travel in groups, so when the first couple go out the door the others tend to just follow right along,” Alpha Genesis CEO Greg Westergaard told CBS News.
Westergaard said his main goal is to have the monkeys returned safely with no other problems. “I think they are having an adventure,” he said.
The monkeys on Friday were exploring the outer fence of the Alpha Genesis compound and are cooing at the monkeys inside, police said in a statement.
“The primates are exhibiting calm and playful behavior, which is a positive indication,” the police statement said, adding company workers are closely watching the monkeys while keeping their distance as they work to safely recapture them.
The monkeys are about the size of a cat. They are all females weighing about 7 pounds (3 kilograms).
Alpha Genesis, federal health officials and police all said the monkeys pose no risk to public health. The facility breeds the monkeys to sell to medical and other researchers.
“They are not infected with any disease whatsoever. They are harmless and a little skittish,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said Thursday.
Authorities still recommend that people who live near the compound about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from downtown Yemassee shut their windows and doors and call 911 if they see the monkeys. Approaching them could make them more skittish and harder to capture, officials said.
Eve Cooper, a biology professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who has studied rhesus macaques, said the animals have the potential to be dangerous and urged people to keep their distance.
Rhesus macaques monkeys can be aggressive. And some carry the herpes B virus, which can be fatal to humans, Cooper said.
However, Alpha Genesis states on its website that it specializes in pathogen-free primates. Cooper noted that there are pathogen-free populations of rhesus macaques that have been quarantined and tested.
“I would give them a wide berth,” Cooper said. “They’re unpredictable animals. And they can behave quite aggressively when they’re afraid.”
Alpha Genesis provides primates for research worldwide at its compound about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Savannah, Georgia, according to its website.
Locally, it is known as “the monkey farm.” And there is more amusement than panic around Yemassee and its population of about 1,100 just off Interstate 95 about 2 miles from Auldbrass Plantation, a Frank Lloyd Wright house designed in the 1930s.
There have been escapes before, but the monkeys haven’t caused problems, said William McCoy, who owns Lowcountry Horology, a clock and watch repair shop.
“They normally come home because that’s where the food is,” he said.
McCoy has lived in Yemassee for about two years and while he plans to stay away from the monkeys, he has his own light-hearted plan to get them back.
“I’m stocking up bananas, maybe they’ll show up,” McCoy said.
The Alpha Genesis compound is regularly inspected by federal officials.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture fined Alpha Genesis $12,600 in part after officials said 26 primates escaped from the Yemassee facility in 2014 and an additional 19 got out in 2016.
The company’s fine was also issued because of individual monkey escapes as well as the killing of one monkey by others when it was placed in the wrong social group, according to a report from the USDA.
The group Stop Animal Exploitation Now sent a letter Thursday to the USDA asking the agency to immediately send an inspector to the Alpha Genesis facility, conduct a thorough investigation and treat them as a repeated violator. The group was involved in the 2018 fine against the company.
“The clear carelessness which allowed these 40 monkeys to escape endangered not only the safety of the animals, but also put the residents of South Carolina at risk,” wrote Michael Budkie, executive director of the group.
The USDA, which has inspected the compound 10 times since 2020, didn’t immediately respond to the letter.
The facility’s most recent federal inspection in May showed there were about 6,700 primates on site and no issues.
In a 2022 review, federal veterinarians reported two animals died when their fingers were trapped in structures and they were exposed to harsh weather. They also found cages weren’t adequately secure. Inspectors said criminal charges, civil penalties or other sanctions could follow if the problems weren’t fixed.
Since then, Alpha Genesis has undergone six inspections with minor problems reported only once.
In January 2023, the USDA said temperatures were out of the 45 to 85 degree Fahrenheit (7.2 to 29.5 degree Celsius) required range at some of the compound’s monkey cages. The inspection found moldy food in one bin, sharp edges on a gate that could cut an animal and sludge, food waste, used medical supplies, mechanical equipment, and general construction debris on the grounds.
Supporters of medical research involving nonhuman primates said they are critical to lifesaving medical advances like creating vaccines against COVID-19 because of their similarities to people. Keeping a domestic supply of the animals is critical to prevent shortages for U.S. researchers.
Humans have been using the rhesus macaque for scientific research since the late 1800s. Scientists believe that rhesus macaques and humans split from a common ancestor about 25 million years ago and share about 93% of the same DNA.
These monkeys have been launched into space on V2 rockets, used for AIDS research, had their genome mapped and made stars of their own reality television show. They were in such high demand in the early 2000s that a shortage led to scientists paying up to $10,000 per animal.
Outside of rats and mice, rhesus macaques are one of the most studied animals on the planet, said Dario Maestripieri, a behavioral scientist at the University of Chicago who wrote the 2007 book “Macachiavellian Intelligence: How Rhesus Macaques and Humans Have Conquered the World.”
The animals are very family oriented, siding with relatives when fights break out. And they’re adept at building political alliances in the face of threats from other monkeys. But they can be painful to watch. Monkeys with lower status in the hierarchy live in a constant state of fear and intimidation, Maestripieri said.
“In some ways, they kind of represent some of the worst aspects of human nature,” Maestripieri said.
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Lovan reported from Louisville, Kentucky, and Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks with reporters after chairing a special cabinet committee working on Canada’s plan to deal with the incoming Donald Trump administration. Freeland says she’s stood up for Canadian interests in the past and is ready to go another round. (Nov. 8, 2024)
