It has been announced by Canada’s chief public health officer that the country could face a possible fourth wave of COVID-19, driven by the most infectious Delta variant by the end of summer in case if restrictions are relieved too quickly and before enough people have been vaccinated.
According to Dr Theresa Tam robust vaccination rates have helped to reduce hospitalizations and deaths but it is important to increase the vaccinations to avoid new strain on hospitals and the healthcare system.
Tam in a news briefing told that about 6.3 million Canadians have not received the first dose and over 5 million have not had a second. She also urged the younger adults to become fully immunized as soon as possible so that they could lag among age groups but are associated with the highest rates of disease transmission.
“With just over five weeks until Labor Day in Canada, this time is crucial for building up protection before we gather in schools, colleges, universities and workplaces this fall,” she said.
Tam said, to establish better protection the vaccine coverage must be more than 80 per cent in all age groups. She said, “The more infectious delta variant is expected to gain steam among younger unvaccinated people, fuelling a resurrection that could overwhelm health care capacity if personal contacts also rise.”
According to government figures, 89 per cent of seniors aged from 70 or older had got two doses of coronavirus vaccines as of Saturday. But only 46 per cent of Canadians aged between 18 to 29 were fully vaccinated, as were 54 per cent of those aged 30 to 39.
Current COVID-19 case counts have dropped by 93 per cent since the peak of the third wave, for an average of 640 new infections being reported daily over the past seven days, said Tam.
Deputy chief public health officer Howard Njoo said Canada’s vigorous inoculation rate means any uptick in infections would likely not resemble to a marked increase in deaths and hospitalizations. He warned that millions of unvaccinated Canadians “are really at risk of serious outcomes.”
